Trivia that I have no clue as to the answer - contronyms in Greek and Hebrew

MJ. Smith
MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,882
edited November 2024 in English Forum

Definition and English example of a contronym:

[quote]a word with two opposite meanings, e.g. sanction (which can mean both ‘a penalty for disobeying a law’ and ‘official permission or approval for an action’).

Are there any contronymns in Greek or Hebrew?

Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

Comments

  • SineNomine
    SineNomine Member Posts: 7,012 ✭✭✭

    Apparently yes, in Hebrew: https://adiakrisis.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/hebrew-enantiosemy/

    A search of my Verbum library for "contronym" found hits in Michael Carasik's work.

    “The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,882
    https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1252398#Comment_1252398

    Fantastic - just what I needed

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • Mike Binks
    Mike Binks MVP Posts: 7,459

    Isn't there the apocryphal tale of the English lecturer who stated.

    'Whilst it is possible to have a double negative to indicate a positive. There are no double positives to indicate a negative'

    A student in the third row responded 'Yeh Right!'

    tootle pip

    Mike

    Now tagging post-apocalyptic fiction as current affairs. Latest Logos, MacOS, iOS and iPadOS

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,882
    https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1252422#Comment_1252422

    [Y]

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • SineNomine
    SineNomine Member Posts: 7,012 ✭✭✭
    https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1252422#Comment_1252422

    Mike Binks said:

    Isn't there the apocryphal tale of the English lecturer who stated.

    'Whilst it is possible to have a double negative to indicate a positive. There are no double positives to indicate a negative'

    A student in the third row responded 'Yeh Right!'

    The original is not apocryphal. It was a witty philosophy professor who replied, "Yeah, yeah" to the renowned speaker.

    “The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.” St. Peter of Alcántara

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