2007-06-01 21:48:28 · 3 answers · asked by Grinning Football plinny younger 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
A substantial proportion of our language comes from ancient Greek, Latin, and Norse roots. These were civilisations where mythology and gods were rife, so a number of expressions have cascaded down to modern English. Expressions like "jovial" from Jupiter, "venereal" from Venus, "Thursday" from the Norse god Thor, "Olympics" from the Greek games in honour of the gods, "gnome" from the Latin "gnomus", and so forth. A handsome young man will be described as an "Adonis". Certain plants like Hyacinth and Daphne are the names of ancient deities. Even "deity" comes from the word "deus" in Latin, which means "god".
Words like "fairylike","impish", "wizardly" come from a different source but also stem from mythology.
2007-06-01 23:44:27 · answer #1 · answered by WISE OWL 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, there are of course too many to count, but if you wished to, you could start with all the gods. And I do mean ALL the gods, including, Allah, Christ, Vishnu, Thor, Odin, Mars, etc.
2007-06-09 19:35:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
none.
2007-06-09 09:29:02 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋