ETYMOLOGY
It is easily understandable that the etymology, that is the true origin of the words-names, is a basic axis in the mind activating attempt. As for the young children, it does not simply energise their mind, but also excites them and makes them have a live contact with reality. The words, the meanings, the items, everything makes sense, lights up, become understandable. Furthermore, the children become aware of the greatness of the Greek Language at first hand, are fascinated by this very greatness, love their language and become eager to go more into it.
Examples
ἀστέρας [a’steras] = star
The wide earth, the eternal solid pier of everything is below us. The dome of the sky, permanent, immutable and eternal, flats and leans on the solid-firm (στέρεα, [‘sterea]) earth, at the line on which touch the mountains with the horizon. This permanence, but also instability of the mounting of the sky on the earth, gave to it (the sky) the name στερέωμα[ste’reoma] = firm, firmament, the well- known firmament of the sky.
However, shiny signs, which were no firm at all, but moved, rose and set, changed course, appeared and disappeared seasonally, albeit with an eternally unchangeable order, could be distinguished on this “firm firmament”. Our ancestors named those shiny moving signs of the sky ἀστέρια [a’steria]stars, i.e. ἀ–στέρεα, [a’sterea], not firm but movable, by contrast with the sky dome, the firmament which leans immovable on the ground.
Καρύδι [ka’rydi] = walnut
Every name given as identity in everything aims for describing, catching, distinguishing the mainly, or, if it is possible, even its sole, distinctive characteristic, as it will register with this very namein the “civil registers” of the dictionaries and in the language of the people.
The above happens more or less in perhaps every language in the world. However, we could argue that it is a rule in our language.
Which is the main characteristic that the word describes, in the word καρύδι, κάρυον[ka’rydi, ‘karyon]=walnut?We think that it describes the walnut as a little head and that is what the word κάρυονmeans: μικρὴκάρα[mi’kri ‘kara] = little head. Both a head and a walnut have an external tough shell: a κάρα= head has a bony shell and a walnut a ligneous one.
The ἐγκέφαλος [en’gkefalos] = brain <ἐν + κεφαλὴ [en = in + kefa’li = head], which consists of lobes, is in the heart of the head. The internal part of the walnut contains also pods, surprisingly similar to the lobes of the brain as for their configuration.
These determining similarities of the head (κάρα) gave the word κάρυον (diminutive of the word κάρα), which literally means little head.
[ FromYannisPrinianakis-VasilisFilias “Ta imartimenatoulexikouBabinioti (The errors of the Babiniotis’ modern greek dictionary)” Papazisi editions. ΓιάννηςΠρινιανάκης-ΒασίληςΦίλιας «ΤὰἡμαρτημένατοῦλεξικοῦΜπαμπινιώτη». ἐκδ. Παπαζήση]
