Saturday, 12 November 2022

When you hear 'gymnasium' are you hearing English or Greek?

'Gymnasium' is a word borrowed from Greek 'gumnos'. The word entered the English language some time around 1598.


gymnasium [noun] [1598]
  • a large room used for various indoor sports (as basketball or boxing) and usually equipped with apparatus
  • a building (as on a college campus) containing space and equipment for various indoor sports activities and usually inc...
  • a European secondary school that prepares students for the university
See 'gymnasium' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Greek.

Etymology: Latin, exercise ground, school, from Greek 'gymnasion' from 'gymnazein' to exercise naked, from 'gymnos' naked
See more loan words from 1500s.


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