ire

Use this forum to suggest Good Words for Professor Beard.
William Hupy
Senior Lexiterian
Posts: 611
Joined: Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:14 pm

ire

Postby William Hupy » Mon May 11, 2015 9:54 am

Throughout the PIE lands and languages this word has lived on having originated as *eis*. All seem to be associated with passion or mad. When it found its way into the Germanic languages it seems also to have taken on a sense of wander. This brings to mind something said as kids: don't go away mad, just go away.
William A. Hupy

Perry Lassiter
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 3333
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
Location: RUSTON, LA
Contact:

Re: ire

Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu May 14, 2015 8:24 pm

Eis in Greek means in or into. Whence associated with anger?
pl

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8042
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: ire

Postby Slava » Thu May 14, 2015 8:59 pm

Eis in Greek means in or into. Whence associated with anger?
c.1300, from Old French ire "anger, wrath, violence" (11c.), from Latin ira "anger, wrath, rage, passion," from PIE root *eis-, forming various words denoting "passion" cf. Greek hieros "filled with the divine, holy," oistros "gadfly," originally "thing causing madness;" Sanskrit esati "drives on," yasati "boils;" Avestan aesma "anger").

Old English irre in a similar sense is from an adjective irre "wandering, straying, angry," cognate with Old Saxon irri "angry," Old High German irri "wandering, deranged," also "angry;" Gothic airzeis "astray," and Latin errare "wander, go astray, angry" (see err (v.)).
Which makes all this related to error and errant, too.

Odd that ire is anger, but irenic is peacemaking. They aren't related, except in modern spelling, I presume.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.


Return to “Good Word Suggestions”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 40 guests