Fun With Words – γλώσσα

I came across the phrase ξένες γλώσσες (foreign languages) while playing around with one of the English>Greek tests at the Goethe-Verlag website. γλώσσες is a form of the word γλώσσα, which means ‘language’ or ‘tongue’. The word ‘glossary’ is derived from γλώσσα, which can also mean ‘obsolete or foreign word’.

Here are some words which are derived from the word γλώσσα :

• γλώσσα προγραμματισμού - programming language (e.g. Java)
• γλωσσολογία - linguistics, philology
• γλωσσολόγος - linguist
• γλωσσάριο - glossary
• μητρική γλώσσα - native tongue, mother tongue

If you can know any other words or phrases derived from γλώσσα that should be added to the list above, feel free to leave a comment.