Words of the Month (March 2023)

 1. Polysyndeton (English)-From Oxford Reference:

[from Greek, ‘using many connectives’]

The repetition of conjunctions in close succession for rhetorical effect, as in ‘Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea’ (Shakespeare, Sonnet 65).

See https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100336782;jsessionid=2B2540DCB4E4B304614AC888E2163CAE

The example from Shakespeare reminds me of Romans 8:38-39 (RSV): "For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2. Asyndeton (English)-"Asyndeton (ah-SIN-di-ton) is the deliberate omission of a coordinating conjunction between words or phrases in literature or any written speech."

The definition comes from https://www.supersummary.com/asyndeton/

The website contains bountiful amounts of data about asyndeton and other rhetorical devices. One of my favorite examples is "veni, vidi, vici" by Julius Caesar (attributed to him).

Compare Aristotle, Rhetoric 3.12, which the website above references.

See also https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/asyndeton

Veni, vidi, vici is an example of other devices, rhetorically speaking, including alliteration.

Words of the Month (February 2023)

1. Parataxis and hypotaxis (English)-See the explanation given here: https://dcc.dickinson.edu/grammar/goodell/parataxis-and-hypotaxis

Parataxis connects or coordinates sentences or clauses whereas hypotaxis refers to grammatical subordination: "A sentence is subordinate when it is made part of another, with the value of a noun, adjective, or adverb."

2. Monogenes/μονογενής (Greek)-See https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/monogenes

There is some debate as to whether the word means "only, unique, sui generis" or "only-begotten."

Latin Vulgate-Judges 11:34: revertenti autem Iepthae in Maspha domum suam occurrit unigenita filia cum tympanis et choris non enim habebat alios liberos

Translation: "And when Jephte returned into Maspha, to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children."

LXX: καὶ ἦλθεν Ιεφθαε εἰς Μασσηφα εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτοῦ ἐξεπορεύετο εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῦ ἐν τυμπάνοις καὶ χοροῗς καὶ αὕτη μονογενὴς αὐτῷ ἀγαπητή καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ πλὴν αὐτῆς υἱὸς ἢ θυγάτηρ

Words of the Month (December 2022)

1. κεφαλή (Greek)-Noun: Bill Mounce offers these ways of defining κεφαλή, "the head, Mt. 5:36; 6:17; the head, top; κεφαλὴ γωνιας, the head of the corner, the chief corner-stone, Mt. 21:42; Lk. 20:17; met. the head, superior, chief, principal, one to whom others are subordinate, 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 1:22"

See https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/kephale


2. eschatology (English)-In theology, this word refers to the doctrine of the "last things." The etymology of eschatology is eschatos + logos.

Holman Bible Dictionary: The teaching concerning the last things in world history. The Greek word eschatos means “last” or “final.” Accordingly, eschatology is the study of the things expected to occur at the end of history. There are two basic ways of approaching eschatology. The first, which has been most common over the centuries, focuses on those final events or situations which have not yet occurred. These are, chiefly, Jesus' return, the millennium, the last judgment, the final resurrection, and heaven and hell. Over the last century, however, scholars have generally agreed that the New Testament was written in an atmosphere pervaded by eschatology.

See https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/e/eschatology.html

Words of the Month (November 2022)

1. Pistis (Greek)-Depending on the context, πίστις can be translated "faith" or faithfulness." Other possible translations are belief, trust, assurance, conviction. See Galatians 5:22-23; Hebrews 11:1.

Compare https://www.thoughtco.com/pistis-rhetoric-1691628

2. Semelfactive (English)-linguists apply this term to the aspect of certain verbs to signify/indicate that action is instantaneous, punctiliar, happens once, is momentary. Examples include kick, jump, sneeze, wink, blink, knock.

"Jane kicked the ball."

"The cow jumped over the moon."

"Abe knocked on the door."

See https://www.encyclo.co.uk/meaning-of-Semelfactive

Words of the Month (September 2022)

1. One of our words for September is the Greek καρπός ("fruit, crop, harvest"). The NT employs this noun both literally and figuratively: one of the most notable figurative examples is Galatians 5:22-23. But see also Ephesians 5:9; Hebrews 13:15; James 3:17-18. For places where the rendering "harvest" is preferred, see James 5:7, 18.

2. Paradigmatic (English)-"Paradigmatic refers to the relationship between a set of linguistic items that form mutually exclusive choices."

See https://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/socialresearch/paradigmatic.htm

Some examples for paradigmatic relationships might be raw/cooked, sacred/profane, spirit/flesh, hot/cold.

Words of the Month (August 2022)

My words for this month are Hebrew and English.

1. Midrash (מִדְרָשׁ)-this Hebrew term occurs twice in the Tanakh, within the same book (2 Chronicles 13:22; 24:27). Its senses include exposition, exegesis, interpretation, and explanation: the ancient Jewish rabbis developed a form of literature known as the midrashim. In Judaism, the word can denote, "any of the rabbinical commentaries and explanatory notes on the Scriptures, written between the beginning of the Exile and c. a. d. 1200."

See https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/midrash

2. Syntagmatic-When structuralism deals with language, it proposes that language is a system wherein words internally relate to one another. According to this school of thought, words may be either paradigmatic or syntagmatic. The latter type of relation could be illustrated with the use of quart or pint and a liquid like milk or beer: "quart" and "pint" are the syntagma and "beer" is the word to which they bear a relation. Other examples are "Son/son" used in relation to God or "kingdom."

American Heritage Dictionary, Fifth Edition: [syntagmatic] adjective Of or relating to the relationship between linguistic units in a construction or sequence, as between the (n) and adjacent sounds in not, ant, and ton. The identity of a linguistic unit within a language is described by a combination of its syntagmatic and its paradigmatic relations.

Dictionary.com: adjective Linguistics.

pertaining to a relationship among linguistic elements that occur sequentially in the chain of speech or writing, as the relationship between the sun and is shining or the and sun in the sentence The sun is shining.

See also Anthony C. Thiselton, Hermeneutics: An Introduction.