Everyday LifeGreek → English
Aristotle
/ˈærɪˌstɒtəl/proper noun
The Greek philosopher of Stagira, 384 to 322 BC, tutor of Alexander and founder of the Lyceum.
The Greek roots
ἄριστος
áristos
best, noblest
τέλος
télos
end, purpose
Literally: “best purpose”
The story of the word
His parents gave him a name meaning best end or best fulfilment, and he then spent a career arguing that everything in nature has a τέλος, an end it is aimed at. The coincidence is real and nobody planned it. The first element ἄριστος also gives aristocracy, rule by the best, a word Aristotle himself used as a technical label for one of his six constitutions.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
Same family
aristocracyteleologyaristocrat
In a sentence
She read Aristotle on friendship and found it colder than she expected.