Terms and Words: Serious Business

Terms and Words: Serious Business

I enjoy the study of words, particularly the Greek and Hebrew of the Old and New Testaments. I am not proficient in Hebrew. However, I find the study of Koine Greek to be extremely important to understanding the New Testament, and also to seeing the etymology of many of our English words. There are numerous publications available at little or no cost to assist the student of the Bible. He/she should acquire some of these. Be sure they are scholarly and not some wordsmith’s opinion. Also, add to your studies of etymology a systematic study of the contexts in which the terms are used in the New Testament.

Those who love the study of words will enjoy a daily blog to which I subscribe. Here is a sample:


_____

Word of the Day: July 15, 2020

indite

Definition

1 : make up, compose

2 : to give literary or formal expression to

3 : to put down in writing

 

 

Did You Know?

Indite looks like a misspelling of its homophone indict, meaning "to charge with a crime," and that's no mere coincidence. Although the two verbs are distinct in current use, they are in fact related etymologically. Indite is the older of the two; it has been in the English language since the 1300s. Indict, which came about as an alteration of indite, appeared in the 16th century. Ultimately, both terms come from Latin indicere, meaning "to make known formally" or "to proclaim," which in turn comes from in- plus dīcere, meaning "to talk, speak, or say."

Build your vocabulary! Get Word of the Day in your inbox every day.

Examples

"Meanwhile, the single gentleman, the Notary, and Mr Garland, repaired to a certain coffee-house, and from that place indited and sent a letter to Miss Sally Brass, requesting her … to favour an unknown friend who wished to consult her…." — Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, 1840

"I could not bear the idea of his amusing himself over my secret thoughts and recollections; though, to be sure, he would find little good of himself therein indited…." — Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, 1848

More Words of the Day

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day

_____

The site invites feedback regarding the daily blogs. Here is mine for July 15, 2020.

To: Merriam-Webster

As someone who loves words and has studied terms for more than half a century, I am enjoying this daily blog very much. This post regarding the term, indite (spellcheck doesn't recognize it), and your fuller explanation, demonstrate how important the use of words is today when so-called "woke" and "word police" are destroying the English language and our ability to communicate. You might be interested that I make a distinction between a word and a term. A word is a term in a context | A term is a word without a context. The thought police would have us give up our right to determine what we mean by what we say. This violates our constitutional right to our freedom of speech.