The core meaning of the word Eleutheria (freedom)
David writes:
I have seen it spelled eleutheria
.. I ask because I own a sailboat (bought used) that is named eleuthra,
meaning freedom in Greek. Is this spelling incorrect, or is it possible that
both spellings are acceptable? ... I ask this because I wish to repaint the
boat and would like to put the name on in both the English and Greek letters
* * *
The rendering as eleuthra is wrong. Probably
someone who knew the word, not knowing Greek, in the pass of time he got
confused. An Εnglish translitteration would be Eleutheria (notice the
correspondence of Greek and English letters - ελευθερ-ι-α)...
Eleutheria (ΕΛΕΥΘΕΡΙΑ)
means freedom, as you know already. What you may don't know is the etymology,
which reveals meanings unknown to 'freedom'.
Eleutheria seems to come from arriving (eleu) to
where one loves (eran). This way eleutheria radically means the fulfillment of
one's love as an end of a trip. There is included here also the meaning of
growing and rising, advancing to a higher state of being. Therefore, in the
core of the common meaning of eleutheria as being independent, there is a very
concrete and special dependence. This way one understands easily how Odyssey
and Iliad are inherent in language itself.
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Related:
•
Some important Greek words
•
The Greek Word Library
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