Thursday, November 18, 2004
Curmudgeon
It's sometimes difficult to translate a single word from one language to another. The following ancient Greek compounds all overlap in meaning somewhat with English curmudgeon:
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- authades (stubborn, self-willed), from autos (self) and hedomai (satisfy, enjoy). See Richard Chenevix Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament (1880; rpt. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1945), pp. 349-353.
- dyskolos (ill-tempered, grouchy), from dys- (a prefix meaning bad, hard, ill, akin to English mis- and un-) and kolon (food, fodder).
- mempsimoiros (querulous), from memphomai (blame) and moira (fate).
- misanthropos (hating humans), from misos (hatred) and anthropos (man, human being).
- philopsogos (fond of blaming, censorious), from philos (loving, fond) and psogos (blame, censure).
