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Etymology of νόστιμος: it's from the ancient Greek νόστιμος, which meant homecoming. So Odysseus (Ulysses) was νόστιμος (with the ancient Greek meaning of the word) because he would return to Ithaca. But when you are νόστιμος, you miss your home. And here's why I think this word is beautiful: when you eat something and say it is νόστιμο (in modern Greek), you say that it has the taste of return. The taste reminds you of your home and you miss it, like Odysseus missed so much Ithaca and his family...
1404
Good point. I always thought that nostalgia was a Latin word. Now we know where the Romans got it from!
- 1404
Thanks for the historical perspective Apogeotou! This could also explain the sense of 'nice' and/or 'funny/happy'... That is, one would tend to be more plesant/nice when home than when far away... Enjoy the lingot!
Thank you! I think that etymology is something amazing and we should look the origins of the words we say every day. You never know, you might see words from another perspective after you take a look at the etymology :)
- 1404
Is the main meaning of νόστιμο delicious? Would "nice" or "funny" be included in possible meanings? I am curious how this word relates to "nostim" from Romanian. Thank you for putting the course together.
- 1515
First of all I don't speak Romanian, so I don't know what "nostim" means.
The adjective "νόστιμος-η-ο" has two meanings in Greek. It can mean "delicious" (only used for describing food, therefore I would not translate it as "nice" or "funny'', which can be used to describe other things too) or "attractive" (only for a person that you like). Keep in mind that the last meaning is informal.
I hope that this helps. :-)
- 1404
That is what I was hoping to hear! Funny is the main meaning and attractive is one the meanings of 'nostim' in Romanian (according to one of their online dictionaries), ευχαριστώ.
Another translation is "tasty". Νόστιμος can also be used for an attractive girl/boy: νοστιμούλα/νοστιμούλης (pretty informal to say).
- 288
No way ! In Romanian nostim (νόστιμ) means funny or charming ! Same word, diffrent meanings ❤
