Modern English Words With Greco-Roman Origins

Tom Blank of Weird History looks back at the ancient Greco-Roman origins of words and phrases that are still used in the modern English lexicon.

imagine you had a time machine… and could go back to ancient Greece or Rome. It would help to speak the language, but you might be surprised to find you already do. Because a lot of words and phrases we still use today are actually way way older than most people realize. 

Included in this list are such terms as echo, narcissist (Narcissus), idiot, tantalize (Tantalus), stadium (Staryon), hypnosis (Hypnos), laconic wit (Laconia), draconian (Draco), pyrrhic victory (Pyrros), gymnasium (Gymnos), cereal (Ceres), and lethargy (River Lethe).

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.