Cosmas
/ˈkɒzməs/proper noun
A Greek male given name, borne chiefly by the physician saint paired with Damian.
The Greek roots
Literally: “orderly one”
The story of the word
Cosmas and Damian were twin physicians martyred around 300 who took no fees for their work, which made them patron saints of doctors, surgeons and pharmacists. The κόσμος behind the name gave the Greeks their word for the universe, on the argument that it is arranged rather than heaped, and also their word for what a woman puts on her face. A sixth-century merchant known as Cosmas Indicopleustes, the India-sailor, wrote a long book arguing that the earth is a flat box shaped like the Tabernacle.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
In a sentence
The hospital chapel is dedicated to Cosmas and Damian.
In Greek families the name is usually shortened to Makis.