I submit an interesting etymological tidbit for your contemplation: the word heretic has its roots in the Greek word haireô which means to choose.
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I submit an interesting etymological tidbit for your contemplation: the word heretic has its roots in the Greek word haireô which means to choose.
Comments
indeed! say more!
Posted by: door number 3 on Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The etymology of a word does not always reveal its meaning. Semantics change over time - consider the word 'awful' as an example.
In this case, we can theorize that a heretic started out as someone who would not uncritically subscribe to the dominant beliefs of the day but would choose carefully. By the time of the Roman Empire, it was used to describe a divisive person (still in Greek at this point). Now, it describes someone who rejects a standard belief system. It worked its way into English by way of French from Latin. (These comments would not be possible without help of the Oxford English Dictionary - leather bound at Amazon...only $6000.)
Posted by: CJ Costello on Tuesday, January 24, 2006