Comment on Zeus vs Deus by rogercruz
Oh, the title was alright (English Christians indeed call Yaheh God), I was just being a bit pedantic.
It's weird, in English "deus" seems similarly generic (i.e. it means "a god" or "a deity" rather than a specific creature). I guess the closest Portuguese equivalent to that is "divindade".
It's weird, in English "deus" seems similarly generic (i.e. it means "a god" or "a deity" rather than a specific creature). I guess the closest Portuguese equivalent to that is "divindade".
Actually, "deus" in latin comes from the greek god "zeus" it's a linguisitc deformation and because Zeus was the most important god for greeks, it became a generic term for the Latins and then the languages that came from latin wich explains how portuguese uses the term x)
The term isn't generic in Portuguese though, is it? As with "God" (capitalized) in English, it pretty strongly identifies the Christian deity Yahweh, yes? Same w/Dio in Italian, Dios in Spanish and Dieu in French? Deus was generic in in Latin only until the Christianization of Late Latin (circa 200-500 AD). Prior to that (in Classical Latin) it was generic.
I could be wrong, but I don't think "deus" is a Latin corruption of the Greek "Zeus". My understanding is that both words simply derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root (dyeu-, "to shine). There are a great many words in both Greek and Latin which derive from this same root (and through them, the Romance languages and English, which borrows from them).
I could be wrong, but I don't think "deus" is a Latin corruption of the Greek "Zeus". My understanding is that both words simply derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root (dyeu-, "to shine). There are a great many words in both Greek and Latin which derive from this same root (and through them, the Romance languages and English, which borrows from them).
I just checked and yes you're right both comes from the same root! However, "deus" is both generic and associated to God, if capitalized! In French, for example: "Dieu" is "God" in monotheists religions (as Christianism or Islam) and "un dieu" or "dieux" is used to refer to polytheists religons. As in englsih where you have God and gods x) You've got a great knowledge about this! What courses did you take? (I take latin and greek classes)
I see! Thanks for the chat. Most of what I know about Latin/Greek etymology comes from a comparative religion class and my own investigations. I'm kind of an amateur language nerd; I'm more interested in etymology and comparative linguistics than semiotics (although semiotics is also interesting).
I spend a lot of time talking with my religious friends and relatives about their beliefs (I live in the middle of the USA where many people are quite serious about their Christianity). I tend to discuss historicity and language a lot. I therefore know a bit about Classical and Late Latin, various dialects of Greek, and some Aramaic and Hebrew (the latter two mostly as they relate to the Tanakh/OT). I'm not religious myself and I tend to think many of my Christian peers have bad moral ideas. I want to make the world better, so recounting the history of the language in their sacred texts is a conduit to getting them to think more reasonably about ethics (if they can see the text more as an evolved man-made document and less as an absolute truth, they tend to become more tolerant and inclusive).
I spend a lot of time talking with my religious friends and relatives about their beliefs (I live in the middle of the USA where many people are quite serious about their Christianity). I tend to discuss historicity and language a lot. I therefore know a bit about Classical and Late Latin, various dialects of Greek, and some Aramaic and Hebrew (the latter two mostly as they relate to the Tanakh/OT). I'm not religious myself and I tend to think many of my Christian peers have bad moral ideas. I want to make the world better, so recounting the history of the language in their sacred texts is a conduit to getting them to think more reasonably about ethics (if they can see the text more as an evolved man-made document and less as an absolute truth, they tend to become more tolerant and inclusive).
Aha you're welcome. I, for one, am interested in theology and ethnology as in languages x) I totally agree with you about developping a new way to read sacred texts! I tend to think that religions and their application are evolving towards something more private and closer to a spirituality and a personal search but I don't live in the USA so I can't say xD
Just trying to help, an update... Aerwis, In portuguese we have the same variant "Deus" (monotheist) and "Deuses" (Politheist)
Yes, I guess it's quite current in langages that have indo-europeans roots!