Discussion:
Did Shakespeare know Greek? -- Appetite came from (Greek) Piptein
(too old to reply)
HenHanna
2024-08-27 10:32:01 UTC
Permalink
one fav. line (form Shakespeare) is :

DUKE ORSINO
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:

Appetite (has a FALL in it) ???

Did Shakespeare know Greek?

how about the poss. that he was toying with the idea
that Appetite came from (Greek) Piptein

which it did... meaning Rushing, Falling, River, etc.
LionelEdwards
2024-08-27 13:26:34 UTC
Permalink
Post by HenHanna
DUKE ORSINO
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
Appetite (has a FALL in it) ???
The strain (the music) falls off towards the end with
sweet discord and all that.
LionelEdwards
2024-08-27 16:18:43 UTC
Permalink
Post by LionelEdwards
Post by HenHanna
DUKE ORSINO
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
Appetite (has a FALL in it) ???
The strain (the music) falls off towards the end with
sweet discord and all that.
If PTD were here (or was here) he'd find a great example
from JS Bach, but he isn't so it falls to me to find some
sweet discord. Hank Williams:


JNugent
2024-08-27 16:34:38 UTC
Permalink
Post by LionelEdwards
Post by LionelEdwards
Post by HenHanna
DUKE ORSINO
             If music be the food of love, play on;
             Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
             The appetite may sicken, and so die.
Appetite (has a FALL in it) ???
The strain (the music) falls off towards the end with
sweet discord and all that.
If PTD were here (or was here) he'd find a great example
from JS Bach, but he isn't so it falls to me to find some
http://youtu.be/_V-JRWmuRec
FWIW, I too supposed that "appetite" sounded looked vaguely Ancient Greek.

I checked it out on Copilot and was surprised:

Q: What are the linguistic origins of the English word "appetite"?

A: Sent by Copilot:

The word “appetite” has an interesting linguistic history. It originates
from the Latin word appetitus, which means “longing” or “desire.” This
Latin term comes from the verb appetere, meaning “to strive after” or
“to long for,” which is a combination of ad (“to”) and petere (“to seek”).

In the 13th century, the word made its way into Old French as apetit and
later into Anglo-French as appetit. By around 1300, it entered Middle
English as appetit, retaining its meaning related to a craving or
desire, particularly for food.

Isn’t it fascinating how words evolve over time?


1 <www.etymonline.com>
2 <en.wiktionary.org>
3 <academic.oup.com>

Loading...