Your Greek Word On A Sunday

Emmanuela Lia
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Language Learning
  • Updated Weekly

Award nominated, bite-size podcast. Every Sunday, Greek words used in the English language. Travelling words, connecting cultures. 3228fe0c7e699146558c2355b0d1ced04be2b945

  1. 13h ago

    Oedipus

    Welcoming Devon in the UK today and particularly, Exeter. The town who’s underground passageways that used to bring fresh water into It, are still open to the public to visit through guided tours. If you’re not afraid of underground tight spaces that is. Thank you for listening Exeter!  If you like what you hear in this podcast you can subscribe, download and review it wherever you listen. A click and a few nice words go a long way! On with our episode! (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! Οίδημα (oedima) in Ancient Greek meant ‘swelling’ and πούς (pous) meant 'foot'. The spelling changed when moved to Latin and the Greek diphthong o+i turned into o+e but enough with grammar, let’s get to the fun part the myth which I absolutely recommend you read in full when you get a chance.  In Greek mythology, when  the king of Thebes Λάιος (Lios) got the prophesy that his firstborn will be the one that kills him, decided to pierce the baby’s feet and tight them together before handing him to a servant to abandon the infant on a mountain . A Shepard found the baby and took it home as he and his wife were childless and saw that as a blessing. They named him after his ailment, his swollen ankles, and when he grew up the young man wanted to find out his origins. He was told by an oracle that he’s bound to kill his father so, he left his home ,thinking that will keep his father safe. In his travels, he encountered a man that wouldn’t let him through a tight passage. They fought and the young man killed him. Continuing his journey, he reached Thebes but its gates were guarded by the Sphinx. A monster with a female head and a lion’s body that would devour anyone who didn’t solve its riddle: which creature has one voice but has four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night? The young man answered  ‘a Man’ . A man crawls in the beginning of his life, stands in the middle of it and in the end uses a cane, so three legs. The Sphinx, defeated, threw herself from a cliff and the city of Thebes was liberated from the monster. The young man was crowned King of Thebes- since the king was missing- and married It’s Queen. The tragedy of his story became not one but two famous plays. The man who killed his father in a tight passage and married his mother is a terrible story of how fate plays an integral part in Ancient Greek storytelling. The young man’s name was ΟΙΔΗΠΟΔΑΣ/OEDIPUS Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    3 min

  2. Jun 21

    Pilot

    Welcoming Minneapolis this week, the third largest theatre city in the US after New York and Chicago! So make sure you catch a show if you visit! Thank you for listening Minneapolis ! If you like what you hear in this podcast you can subscribe, download and review it wherever you listen. A click and a few nice words go a long way! On with our episode! (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! When Greek words moved to Latin some underwent changes and some didn’t. One very common change was for the letter Δέλτα (Thelta) to turn into an L and today’s word is a very good example of that. Ancient Greek ships didn’t have a central helm but rather two πήδα (pida) and in singular πηδόν (pidon). From the word πούς (pous) meaning 'foot'. Two oars at the very front of the ship and the person steering a ship, the one guiding it , the one changing its 'footing’ was called πηδότης (pedotis). The word moved to Latin in the Middle Ages and from there, to French and English always meaning 'a helmsman'. In 1858 it expanded to ‘the one who controls a hot air balloon’  and in 1907 'the one who flies a plane'. ΠΗΔΟΤΗΣ/PILOT Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    2 min

  3. Jun 14

    Podium

    Welcoming Las Palmas of the Canary islands today! I have a fact that you wouldn’t expect from a holiday destination but I’m an actor so, of course, I found a theatre one. One of the most beautiful theatres in Las Palmas, Teatro Perez Galdós, is said to be haunted by the writer that gave it its name, Benito Perez Galdós. Although, considering how he fought against fanatical religious beliefs all his life and being a realist writer becoming a ghost seems unlikely, he is known to be a trickster ghost more than a scary one and pulls all kinds of pranks to actors and crew members. So, if you watch a show there, see if you can spot an actor who’s a little bit too on alert! Also, look up Galdós when you get a minute. He was a very important writer! Thank you for listening Las Palmas!   If you like what you hear in this podcast you can subscribe, download and review it wherever you listen. A click and a few nice words go a long way! On with our episode! (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go We continue this month with words from the same root. Πούς (pous) in Ancient Greek and πόδι (podi) in modern means ‘foot’. The base of a column or a vase in Ancient Greek was ποδίον (podion) ‘little foot’ . The word moved to Latin and the Romans were using it for the raised platform in Arenas where the VIPs would sit and David Humphries , the American diplomat , translator, and poet brought it into English in the 1700s. The word stayed linked to architecture until 1932 when a three-step platform became mandatory at the summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the word gained its wider meaning. ΠΟΔΙΟΝ/PODIUM ! Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    2 min

  4. Jun 7

    Pedal

    Happy June everyone! If you like what you hear in this podcast, you can subscribe, download and review it wherever you listen. A click and a few nice words go a long way! On with our episode! (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! This month, I’ll be telling you about words that  come from the same root. Some are more straight forward than others and today, I’ll start with the most obvious one. Although it had a bit of a journey. Πούς (pous) in Ancient Greek meant 'foot' and when it moved to Latin became ‘pes’. A thing 'of the foot’ was ‘pedalis’ and in French ‘Pédale’. In 1610 it came to English to describe a pipe organ’s lever and in the 1800s a piano’s one. In the late 1800s the first bicycles were introduced to Greece and with them that exact word, now a loan, to describe a  ΠΕΤΑΛΙ/PEDAL Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    1 min

  5. May 31

    Terpsichore

    Welcoming Casablanca today! An ancient city that was established by Berbers in the 7th century BC and was later a pirates' port. Thank you for listening Casablanca! If you like what you hear in this podcast, you can subscribe, download and review it wherever you listen. A click and a few nice words go a long way! On with our episode! (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! Daughters of Zeus and the Titan Mnemosyne who gave birth to all nine of them, the Muses lived between mount Olympus and the earth. They were assigned an art form (or more) each, to inspire humans and the seventh of them, was in charge of dance and choral song. She’s usually depicted dancing and holding a lyre. Her name entered the English language in the early 1700s, as a noun, in the writings of politician, philosopher and writer Anthony Ashley-Cooper. Τέρψη (terpsi) means ‘delight’ and χορός (choros) means ‘dance’. ΤΕΡΨΙΧΟΡΗ/TERPSICHORE  Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    1 min

  6. May 24

    Turn

    I am welcoming Denver in Colorado this week! Oh my, this city has too many facts to choose from but there’s one that won my heart! And although it was a marketing ploy to make people move west in the late 1800s and it doesn’t have  ‘300 days of sunshine’ it still has 245. That’s all you need to know, people! 245 days of sunshine. Thank you for listening Denver!  If you like what you hear in this podcast you can subscribe, follow and review it wherever you listen. A click and a few nice words go a long way! On with our episode! (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! In Ancient Greece, craftsmen and artists who wanted to make something, they would use an  early design of a lathe. A machine like a big clasp with a bow attached at the end. The clasp would keep the object steady  and by moving the  bow with one hand to rotate it, they could smooth out or carve on it with the other. although most times it was a two person job. I’ll upload a photo on Instagram and Facebook for you to see it. The word came to English before  the 1300s as a verb not a noun although nowadays is used as both. A wider use of the verb started a century later. The Ancient Greek lathe’s name was based on its rotating motion and in English it arrived from the Latin ‘tornare’ and the French ‘tornier’ and in Middle English it was ‘turnen’. A lathe in both ancient and modern Greek is called a Τόρνος (tornos) and the verb is ΤΟΡΝΕΥΩ/TURN Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    2 min

  7. May 17

    Triceps

    Triceps Let’s hear it for Birmingham joining our audience this week!  The  second biggest city in England, nicknamed ‘the city of a thousand trades’ because during the Industrial revolution it was the fuel of the country, from jewellery to heavy machinery. And today, there’s a show with that name by the Birmingham Royal Ballet paying homage to the city.  Welcome Birmingham! Thank you for listening.  If you like what you hear in this podcast you can subscribe, follow and review it wherever you listen. A click and a few nice words go a long way! On with our episode!  (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! In ancient Greece among the classes of mythical creatures were, the monsters! Today I’ll tell you about Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld. A monster that claims as many forms as every writer who decided to describe it. They all agree it was a dog that made sure nobody gets in and out of Hades without permission but whether it had 50, 100 or just 3 heads , a dragon tail, a mix of dog and snake heads with poison, three backs or three bodies, depends on who you read. The description that survived was the three headed one and it matched the description of all his monster siblings that were multi headed.  He became very famous when Hercules managed to subdue him. There’s an adjective that was attached to Cerberus and sometimes you only had to say that to imply him. Τρια (tria) in both ancient and modern Greek means ‘three’ and κεφαλή (kefali) means ‘head’. The masculine combined word came to English in 1577 in John Grange’s fiction novel ‘The Golden Aphrodite’. In Latin the word used in anatomy to describe the upper muscle of your arm that looks as if it has three tops, three heads, is a direct transfer from Greek, minus the alphabet adjustment. And since the beginning of the 20th century we use the shortened and singular version ΤΡΙΚΕΦΑΛΟΣ/TRICEP Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    2 min

  8. May 10

    Trophy

    Welcome Cordoba! I’m so glad you joined our audience. This is the city where Christopher Columbus first met with Queen Isabella and secured a stipend to continue his studies and prepare for his expedition . One of the Queen’s demands was that he wouldn’t go to any other monarchs for funding. And the rest is history.  Thank you for listening Cordoba! (Piano music) Hello, and welcome to Your Greek Word On A Sunday, a weekly, bite-size podcast for anyone curious on language, etymology and connections. I am your host, Emmanuela Lia and wherever you are in the world, if you want to entertain your brain for a few minutes, this is the podcast for you. Let's Go! Τρέπειν (trepin) is an Ancient Greek infinitive meaning ‘to turn’ in modern Greek the noun is τροπή (tropi). Around 490BC a practice started appearing in Ancient Greece that would become a custom and travel all the way to today albeit a little modified. After every battle they’d win , ancient Greeks would find the exact spot where they believed the enemy started turning away and they would either place a stick with an enemy armour on it (like a scarecrow) or they would build a small monument as a reminder of their victory and a threat so the enemy won’t attempt to come back. The custom was adopted by the Romans but it started disappearing around 600BC. The word came to English through Latin and French in the 1500s and shortly after started it’s figurative shift. By the revival on the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 the word was well established as a reward for the winner of a sport. ΤΡΟΠΑΙΟ/TROPHY Instagram @yourgreeksunday , Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

    2 min
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About

Award nominated, bite-size podcast. Every Sunday, Greek words used in the English language. Travelling words, connecting cultures. 3228fe0c7e699146558c2355b0d1ced04be2b945

Information

  • Creator
    Emmanuela Lia
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    347
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Your Greek Word On A Sunday
  • Show Website
    Your Greek Word On A Sunday

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