Roots: Crypt / Cryph : Greek : meaning "hidden"

Crypt: a tomb or underground room where dead bodies are, particularly under a church.

The Cask of Amontillado is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. If you read it you will never forget the root Crypt.  Just a taste: "My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them."

Medical words with "Crypto-" in them always means there is something hidden about the condition. Example: Cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease of the mammalian intestinal tract. Symptoms may include anorexia, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. The parasite C. parvum is considered to be the most important waterborne pathogen in developed countries. It is resistant to all practical levels of chlorination.

Cryptic: 1.) Mysterious; puzzlingly short.  2.) Acting to hide or conceal.  Use example: "I can't imagine why that would be frustrating at all, just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, even all the while there making cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what they could possibly mean...now why would that be frustrating?" Bella (from the Twighlight saga).  I find this quote frustrating because in the Twighlight movies I find Bella to be frustratingly cryptic about her various boy interests.  I grew up socially awkward; I have always found women cryptic and a little scary. Looking back through the years I have often found they were doing everything but hitting me over the head with a message and I never got it.  


Encrypt - to encode a message.  Cryptography: 1.Secret writing. 2.) The encoding and decoding of messages. 



The movie War Games is about a young man (played by Matthew Broderick) who who unwittingly accesses a U.S. Military supercomputer and starts a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the Soviet Union. As the story goes, with his brand new modem, he dialed every number in Sunnyvale, CA to find computer games. A computer that does not identify itself intrigues him. On this computer, Lightman finds a list of games but cannot proceed further. Two older hackers explain the concept of a backdoor password and suggest tracking down the "Falken" referenced in Falken's Maze, the first game listed. Lightman discovers that Stephen Falken is an early artificial intelligence researcher, and guesses correctly that his dead son's name "Joshua" is the backdoor password he was seeking.




Some scholars believe that the Book of Revelation in the bible was not actually a prediction of the future of the world but actually an encrypted messages between Christians at a time when Christians were being killed for being Christians.


Apocryphal: of doubtful genuineness or authenticity.  Usually this applied to Christian writings the Catholic councils either excluded from the Bible or included with a sort of question mark or asterisk.  Here are some apocryphal subjects that I think are interesting.

• Devotion to Mary, esp. the Assumption of Mary’s perpetual virginity.
• Veneration of relics: Acts of Thomas; esp. Veronica’s handkerchief.
• The so-called “harrowing of hell” per 1 Peter 3:19: see the Gospel of Nicodemus, medieval mystery plays.
• Apocryphal ideas displayed in Art: Peter crucified upside down, Thecla, the female apostle, thrown to the lions (Acts of Paul); Veronica; the Arabic Infancy Gospel (a palm tree bending low); John and the poisoned chalice (Acts of John); the ox and the donkey at the Nativity (Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew; already on sarcophagus lid two centuries earlier); the Mary Cycle in Chartres Cathedral (Protevangelium of James); Dante’s Inferno (Apocalypse of Paul); Milton’s Paradise Lost (scenes in hell); Herder’s poem “St. John” (Acts of John).

Gates of Hell, by Auguste Rodin

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Roots : The / Theo : Greek : meaning "God"

Theology: the study of gods or religion.

I have an amateur interest in Theology; I have an equal interest in ancient spiritual texts and social science study of religion.

Apotheosis: 1. transformation into a god. 2. The perfect example.

After his assassination Abraham Lincoln underwent an apotheosis that transformed the controversial politician into a saintly father of democracy. Other examples of apotheosis have been: Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and JFK. In the apotheosis of these figures, that which was intended to be killed, only became stronger.

Atheistic: denying the existence of god or divine power.

Monotheism:  the worship of a single god.

Polytheistic: the worship many gods.

Pantheistic: 1. seeing the power of god in all the natural forces of the universe.  2. worshiping all gods of all creeds and cults.

Pan = all.  Thus Pantheistic = "all gods". The pantheon is a place the romans built where all gods could be worshiped to eliminate the need for so many separate temples. I agree, what a hassle.

My personal religion might almost be considered pantheistic; I went through a phase where I read the original sacred texts of several of the major religions and found that if you look beyond the specific rituals and rules (usually created 100s of years after the religion began) they are expressions of the same essential truths.

Theocracy: 1. government by officials who are regarded as divinely inspired.

Fearing theocracy, and/or religious intolerance, the founders of the United States included a provision in the constitution demanding separation of church and state.  Iran is the most well known modern example of theocracy; and such a fine example it is.

Roots : Polis / Polit : Greek : meaning "city" & "city state"

Acropolis: a high fortified part of a city, especially an ancient Greek city. Acro = "high". Polis = "city".

If the shit hits the fan you are going to want to have an acropolis to hide up in.

Megalopolis. 1. a very large city. 2. a thickly populated area that includes one or more cities with the surrounding suburbs.

A modern example of a megalopolis is the seaboard from Boston to Washington, DC, which is home to 50 million people.

Politic: 1. cleverly tactful. 2 wise in promoting a plan or plan of action.

Smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication. Example. "The politic employee knows he can pacify an angry manager with a smooth apology for the error".

Politicize. to give a political tone or character to.

Sexual conduct, birth control, marriage, recreational drug use, and gun ownership are just a handful of the personal topics that have been politicized in America. Americans seem to care a great deal about what other people do regardless if it has any personal impact on ourselves. So much for Liberty.

Roots : Demo : Greek : meaning "people"

Democracy: "rule by the people".  (Forms of government)


Equality and freedom are important characteristics of democracy.These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to power. For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no restrictions can apply to anyone wanting to become a representative, and the freedom of its citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are protected by a constitution.




Demographic: having to do with with the study of human populations, especially their size, growth, density, and patterns of living.

The U.S. Census, occurring every 10 years, is the largest study of the american population and is a vital planning tool for city, state, and federal government agencies as well as private organizations.


Endemic: 1. found only in a given place or region. 2. often found in a given occupation, area, or environment.

Means literally "in the population".  But also, common. typical.  The saguaro cactus, scorpions, and gila monsters are all endemic to Arizona.


Pandemic: widespread and affecting a large portion of the people.

Pandemic is a stronger version of epidemic.  In 1348 a pandemic outbreak called Black Death struck Western Europe and killed 25 million people.


A demagogue leads the people, usually in trouble, by lying and appealing to their prejudices.

A famous usage was by Erich Ludendorff. After learning of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, he expressed his disappointment to German President Paul von Hindenburg; "By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich, you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action."


Demotic: popular or common.  Demotic describes what is done by ordinary people as a group.  It often describes speech and accents.

The movie Fargo, introduced many people for the first time to the peculiar language, accent, and dialect that is demotic to the rural areas of the northern mid-west states (North Dakota, Minnesota, & Wisconsin). Dont ya' kno'w.

History: Idiot

History of the word idiot

Today's meaning: "A foolish or senseless person". Mentally deficient.

From Greek adjective idios, meaning "One's own or private", essentially "his own man". Noun form idiotes means "private person".

The meaning was simply a person who was not in the public eye, who held no public office. Common man. Since historically common people were not educated, a natural extension of this word became 'ignorant person'.

The word was borrowed from Greek, into Latin, as idiota. Then was borrowed into French as idiote, which later was borrowed into English.

Lyrics to American Idiot by Green Day

Root: Phan / Phen: Greek: from "to appear" and "to present to the mind"

Phantasm: an illusion or a ghost produced by imagination or creative invention. I enjoy watching my cats chase phantasms of my creation. Toes under sheets. Shadow puppets. Laser beams. etc.

Phantasmagoria: 1. a shifting succession of things seen or imagined. 2. A collection or combination of weird or imaginary things. My facebook page is a phantasmagoria.

Phenomenon: a fact or event observed or known with the senses. 2. A rare, unusual, or important fact or event. The way that researchers confirmed Einsteins theory of relativity by measuring the bending of light by an eclipse was phenomenal.

Diaphanous: 1. Transparent. 2. Insubstantial or vague. Mist is diaphanous. A sheer nightgown is diaphanous. However, a diaphanous idea would be one without much real substance behind it.

Root: Matr / Metr : Greek / Latin : From Matris "mother"

Maternity: the state of being a mother; motherhood.

Matron: a mature woman with children.

Matrimony: marriage. Marriage is traditionally the first step towards motherhood.

Matrix: something in which something else is embedded or takes form. In Latin meant a female animal used for breeding purposes, or a plant that was used to produce other plants. Later acquired the meaning "list" or "register" -as the source of names.

Matriculate: to enroll as a member of a group, especially a school or college. Sign up to be on a list of students.

Alma Mater: Latin for "fostering mother"

Matrilineal: based on or tracing the family through the mother. Means literally "through the mothers line".

Matriarchs: mothers who rule. (arch = rule).

Metropolitan: having to do with a large important city and sometimes also its surrounding suburbs. Metropolis means "mother city"- in Greece a metropolis was usually the original city of a colony- thus the mother form which the colony was born.

Root : Path : Greek: From Pathos "Suffering"

Apathetic : showing or feeling little or no emotion. Ex. It is disturbing how apathetic people can be about disasters, atrocities, and wars when there is not a dramatic mainstream media frenzy surrounding them or when they do not understand the impact on themselves.

Empathy : the feeling of, or ability to, feel the emotions or sensations of another. Note: Empathy is stronger, or more intimate, than sympathy.

Pathology : literally the study of suffering. Note: Today, it is the study of disease.

Sociopath : A mentally ill or unstable person who acts in a way that harms people and society. Note. This is broader than the technical psychological description, which is measured by an inventory of behaviors or characteristics. Ex. The documentary "The Corporation" portrays corporations as sociopath's- the movie argues that corporations, as independent legal entities, can become ill or unstable and act in ways that harm people or society.