The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root meaning “man” is ner-. It survives in male names such as Andrew and Alexander, and is the root of the word that gives us “android,” first used in English in 1837 and meaning an automaton resembling a human being in form and movement. Android derives from the Greek andro- (man) and -eides (form, shape).
The ancient PIE root ner- also gave us the Greek anthropos, meaning “man, human being” (including women) — as opposed to the gods — and the English prefix anthropo- (“pertaining to man or human beings”). From here we have anthropocentric (placing humanity at the center of things); anthropology (the study of humans and human culture); and philanthropy (literally, the “love of mankind,” and by extension the giving of money to benefit people, from the Greek philanthropia (“humanity, benevolence and love to mankind”). The opposite of philanthropia is the Greek misanthropos (using misein, “to hate”), which gives us the English “misanthropy” (the hate of mankind) and “misanthrope” (a person that dislikes mankind and avoids people).
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
Photo: Wikimedia Commons 照片：維基共享資源
原始印歐語字根「ner」，是「男人」的意思，在現今的男子名「Andrew」（安德魯）和「Alexander」（亞歷山大）中還可見到。這個字根也衍生出「android」（機器人；安卓）一詞，該詞最早使用在英文中是在一八三七年，意為形狀和動作都像人的自動機械裝置。「android」是由希臘文的字首「andro」（人），以及字尾「eides」（形式、形狀）所構成。
「ner」這古老的原始印歐語系字根，也衍生出希臘文「anthropos」，意為「男人、人類（包括女人）」──這是與眾神相對而言的，以及英文的前綴「anthropro」（「與男人或人類相關的」）。由此前綴，而有「anthropocentric」（以人類為宇宙中心的）、「anthropology」（人類學，即對人類與人類文化之研究），以及「philanthropy」（慈善事業，其字面意義為「對人類的愛」，並引伸為捐贈金錢以使人們受益。該字源於希臘文「philanthropia」（「對人類的人道、仁慈和愛」））等英文字。「philanthropia」的反義詞是「misanthropos」（該字中的「misein」，意為「恨」），由此衍生出英文的「misanthropy」（不願與人來往、憤世嫉俗），以及「misanthrope」（憤世者、不喜人類且不願與人來往的人）。
（台北時報林俐凱譯）
Did you know?
你知道嗎?
Indo-European languages constitute a large language family incorporating most European languages, the Germanic (including English), Romance and Balto-Slavic group languages among them, as well as languages in the northern Indian Subcontinent and the Iranian Plateau. All in all, 46 percent of the global population speaks an Indo-European language as a first language.
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the linguistic reconstruction of the Indo-European languages’ ancient common ancestor. There is no written record of PIE.
印歐語系是個龐大的語族，涵括了大多數歐洲語種──例如日耳曼語（包括英語）、羅曼語和波羅的-斯拉夫語族，也包括北印度次大陸及伊朗高原的語言。總體而言，全球人口有百分之四十六是以印歐語系之語言為母語。
原始印歐語系（PIE）是推理重建出來的印歐語系共同祖先。原始印歐語系並未有書寫下來之記錄。
Step into any corner of Turkiye, and you’ll likely encounter the iconic “Evil Eye,” known as “nazar boncu?u” in Turkish. This striking blue glass ornament is shaped like an eye with concentric circles of dark blue, white, and light blue. While its name in English suggests something threatening, it’s actually a charm designed to ward off misfortune. The origins of the nazar boncu?u can be traced back to ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions. The word nazar comes from Arabic, meaning “gaze,” while boncu?u translates to “bead” in Turkish. Central to the nazar boncu?u’s mythology is the idea that
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