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I usually get the question 'Where do you find all these words?' and most times the answer will be 'from all of you'. Whether you 've sent me a word asking if it's Greek that sends me down a rabbit hole and discover four more on the way or I'm having a chat with a friend and we both pause to the sound of a word they've just used and I jot it down for research or even if my friends directly ask 'have you looked that one up?' I guess, after all this time, we have build a system , you and me where you can find me by email or on my social media and suggest, ask or comment freely. Please, keep doing that. I love hearing from you! All the links on how to get in touch are on the description of every episode. Today's word however, falls under a different category. Me, watching television. There's this great series I'm watching and the title is the very word I'm taking about.

Διπλούν (diploun) is an ancient Greek infinitive and it means 'to fold in two'. In modern Greek Διπλό (diplo) means 'double. Yes, that's the same root word. Ancient Greeks didn't use paper but papyrus so, no paper was folded. The Romans however, took that word and applied it to the official, folded in half, document needed to prove you were a Roman citizen, an ID if you like. The word for that document travelled to England in the 1600s and despite the noun and the adjective getting different meanings with time, they both kept their attachment to something official. An official document folded in two is called a ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑ and someone appointed as a representative to a different country is called a ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΗΣ. DIPLOMA and DIPLOMAT.

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(Intro & piano music)

There is an ancient fruit that grows in Greece and it's the food that sustained thousands of Greeks, including my grandparents, during the second world war. It's called ΧΑΡΟΥΠΙ (charoupi). In ancient Greek it was called ΚΕΡΑΤΙΟΝ (cerateon) meaning 'little horn' because, it looks like one! The ancient Greeks discovered that the weight of each seed of the fruit never changes so they used it as a measure of weight against precious metals and stones. The Romans used to measure their gold with it as one seed was 1/24th of their gold siliqua coin. They, of course, used the Latin word for it that passed on to the French and came to English in the 15th century but the measure for gold purity remained 24 ΚΑΡΑΤΙ/CARAT

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(Intro & piano music)

In ancient Athens there were many philosophical schools of thought that one could join. The main philosopher of each school would gather everyone in the Agora (a place under the Acropolis where you can still visit today) and there, they would have their own spot within it, to hold their teachings and debates. One of the most misunderstood philosophical schools today, was formed by Zeno of Citium in 300BC. He'd gather everyone in his Στοά Ποικίλη (stoa pikili)- stoa means 'porch' and pikili in ancient Greek meant 'colourful' . So, a painted porch. In this case depicting the famous battle of Marathon. He would teach, not detachment from emotion as many might think but, moderation in owning material goods, deep thinking before acting, the celebration and caretaking of one's life as there's no afterlife, reason and, inner peace.
Because not everyone had a porch and Zeno's was colourful, the school was named after it. ΣΤΟΙΚΙΣΜΟΣ-STOICISM

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