Mind your gluteus, please

KOCHI: One beautiful, warm word that caught my attention last week was, for a change, not from the English lexicon but from the tribal hamlets of the Odisha-Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand belt.

Johar.
It was the first word used by President Droupadi Murmu to greet the nation in her first official tweet. Johar simply means “salutation” or “paying respect”, and has been used from “time immemorial”, according to linguists.    

The closest word to johar that is mentioned in the English dictionary is ‘Zohar’. For the layman, it is a Hebrew term which means “radiance”, or “splendour”. For those with a nose for history and theology, Zohar is “an influential text” of Kabbalah — the “ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, first transmitted orally and using esoteric methods”.

To be more specific, Zohar is a “medieval mystical work, consisting chiefly of interpretations of and commentaries on the Pentateuch”. Pentateuch is described as “the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy”. The word has its roots in Greek, derived from Pentáteuchos — penta (five) + teuchos (tool, scroll, book). This became Pentateuchus in Late Latin, and Pentateuch in English.

Another Greek-Latin term that’s been in the news is gluteus maximus, thanks to Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh’s nude photo shoot. Outrage triggered debates, and a middle-aged lady railed on national TV: “We can see his bum!”

Try saying “We can see his gluteus maximus.” Sounds a tad better, refined?

Well, gluteus maximus is another term for buttocks. It is derived from gloutos (buttocks) in Greek and maximus (greatest or largest) in Latin. Collins Dictionary defines it as “the largest of the three muscles that form the human buttock and move the thigh”.

While some drooled over Ranveer’s gluteus maximus show, some empathised with his ‘alleged’ attention-seeking syndrome. Then there were a few who could not digest his cockiness, and declared it ‘hubris’.

Dictionaries define hubris as “a way of talking or behaving that is too proud”. Probe a little deeper, and the word has its roots, again, in Greek. Hubris evolved from Hybris, the ancient Greek spirit or goddess of “insolence, violence, wantonness, reckless pride, arrogance, and outrageous behaviour”.

“English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered it a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods,” notes the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

“In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero.”None has portrayed the concept of hubris as fine as Shakespeare in Macbeth. Not in the mood for tragedy, let me wind up on the brighter side. Shakespeare is credited with coining or popularising over 1,700 words and phrases that we use today. Here are some commonly used ones:

Let’s start off with ‘it’s all Greek to me’ from Julius Caesar. 

The idiom is used to say one does understand something that is written or said.

• ‘Come what may’ Used to convey “whatever happens”. The idiom was derived from the line “Come what come may, time and the hour run through the roughest day” in Macbeth.  
• ‘In a pickle’ “in a jam; in a difficult or unpleasant situation”. The Tempest  
• ‘Sorry sight’ “a sight that one regrets seeing; someone or something that is unpleasant to look at”. Macbeth
• ‘The world is your oyster’ “used to say that someone’s life is good and he or she has the ability to do whatever he or she wants to do”. The Merry Wives Of Windsor 
• ‘Catch a cold ‘ fall sick. Cymbeline
• ‘Love is blind’ — “used to say that people do not see the faults of the people that they love”. The Merchant of Venice  
• ‘Wild goose chase’  “a senseless pursuit of an object or end; a hopeless enterprise”. Romeo and Juliet  
• ‘Method in/to your madness’ “have a good reason for what you are doing, although you seem to be behaving strangely”. Hamlet
• ‘Wear your heart on your sleeve’  “to show one’s emotions very openly”. Othello
•  ‘Brave new world’  “an era characterised by a feeling of hope, often due to great societal change”. The Tempest Johar to that!

KOCHI: One beautiful, warm word that caught my attention last week was, for a change, not from the English lexicon but from the tribal hamlets of the Odisha-Chhattisgarh-Jharkhand belt. Johar. It was the first word used by President Droupadi Murmu to greet the nation in her first official tweet. Johar simply means “salutation” or “paying respect”, and has been used from “time immemorial”, according to linguists.     The closest word to johar that is mentioned in the English dictionary is ‘Zohar’. For the layman, it is a Hebrew term which means “radiance”, or “splendour”. For those with a nose for history and theology, Zohar is “an influential text” of Kabbalah — the “ancient Jewish tradition of mystical interpretation of the Bible, first transmitted orally and using esoteric methods”. To be more specific, Zohar is a “medieval mystical work, consisting chiefly of interpretations of and commentaries on the Pentateuch”. Pentateuch is described as “the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy”. The word has its roots in Greek, derived from Pentáteuchos — penta (five) + teuchos (tool, scroll, book). This became Pentateuchus in Late Latin, and Pentateuch in English. Another Greek-Latin term that’s been in the news is gluteus maximus, thanks to Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh’s nude photo shoot. Outrage triggered debates, and a middle-aged lady railed on national TV: “We can see his bum!” Try saying “We can see his gluteus maximus.” Sounds a tad better, refined? Well, gluteus maximus is another term for buttocks. It is derived from gloutos (buttocks) in Greek and maximus (greatest or largest) in Latin. Collins Dictionary defines it as “the largest of the three muscles that form the human buttock and move the thigh”. While some drooled over Ranveer’s gluteus maximus show, some empathised with his ‘alleged’ attention-seeking syndrome. Then there were a few who could not digest his cockiness, and declared it ‘hubris’. Dictionaries define hubris as “a way of talking or behaving that is too proud”. Probe a little deeper, and the word has its roots, again, in Greek. Hubris evolved from Hybris, the ancient Greek spirit or goddess of “insolence, violence, wantonness, reckless pride, arrogance, and outrageous behaviour”. “English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered it a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods,” notes the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. “In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero.”None has portrayed the concept of hubris as fine as Shakespeare in Macbeth. Not in the mood for tragedy, let me wind up on the brighter side. Shakespeare is credited with coining or popularising over 1,700 words and phrases that we use today. Here are some commonly used ones: Let’s start off with ‘it’s all Greek to me’ from Julius Caesar.  The idiom is used to say one does understand something that is written or said. ‘Come what may’ Used to convey “whatever happens”. The idiom was derived from the line “Come what come may, time and the hour run through the roughest day” in Macbeth.   ‘In a pickle’ “in a jam; in a difficult or unpleasant situation”. The Tempest   ‘Sorry sight’ “a sight that one regrets seeing; someone or something that is unpleasant to look at”. Macbeth ‘The world is your oyster’ “used to say that someone’s life is good and he or she has the ability to do whatever he or she wants to do”. The Merry Wives Of Windsor  ‘Catch a cold ‘ fall sick. Cymbeline ‘Love is blind’ — “used to say that people do not see the faults of the people that they love”. The Merchant of Venice   ‘Wild goose chase’  “a senseless pursuit of an object or end; a hopeless enterprise”. Romeo and Juliet   ‘Method in/to your madness’ “have a good reason for what you are doing, although you seem to be behaving strangely”. Hamlet ‘Wear your heart on your sleeve’  “to show one’s emotions very openly”. Othello  ‘Brave new world’  “an era characterised by a feeling of hope, often due to great societal change”. The Tempest Johar to that!