A feud about a little less

Sometimes less is more - as in few. Here we look at what is left when we have fewer.

22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen. [kjv]

πολλοι γαρ εισιν κλητοι ολιγοι δε εκλεκτοι [gnt]

… pauci … [v]

A traditional United States Marine motto is, "The few, the proud, the Marines".

Matthew 22:14

All

KJV: For many are called, but few are chosen.

Greek: πολλοι γαρ εισιν κλητοι ολιγοι δε εκλεκτοι

Latin: multi autem sunt vocati pauci vero electi

Wessex: Witodlice manega synde ge-laðede äc feawe ge-corene.

Wycliffe: For many ben clepid, but fewe ben chosun.

Tyndale: For many are called and feawe be chosen.

Luther: denn viele sind berufen, aber wenige sind auserwählet.

The PIE (Proto Indo-European) root "pau" ≈ "few, little".

The Latin word "pauci" ≈ "few" from which we get words such as "pauper", "paucity".
Linguistically, a "p" can change to an "f" or a "b".
The Old and Middle English words for few include "feawe", "fewe" and "feawe".

The ancient Greek word "ολίγος" (o-LEE-gos) ≈ "few" and is from the PIE root for "indigent" or "needy" or "ill".

There are many English words (though not seen often) that start with "oligo" such as "oligonucleotide".

The English word "oligarchy" comes through French and Latin from Greek.

The modern Greek word "ολιγαρχία" (o-lee-gar-KHEE-a) ≈ "oligarchy" or rule by a few.

This word is not found in the Bible Greek but does appear in Herodotus, Plutarch, Josephus, etc.

Αρχαιότητες 11 12:1 καὶ οἱ μὲν ὑπὲρ τούτων ἐπιδαψιλευόμενοι ταῖσθυσίαις καὶ τῇ περὶ τὸν θεὸν φιλοτιμίᾳ κατῴκησαν ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις πολιτείᾳ χρώμενοι ἀριστοκρατικῇ μετὰ ὀλιγαρχίας· οἱ γὰρἀρχιερεῖς προεστήκεσαν τῶν πραγμάτων ἄχρι οὗ τοὺς Ἀσαμωναίουσυνέβη βασιλεύειν ἐκγόνους. [jsphs]

More: Flavius Josephus

The modern Greek word "λίγος" (LEE-gos) ≈ "little, few" is used in common speech and writing, though the ancient Greek word is still used and recognized.

The ancient Greek word has the leading «ο» (omicron) which has dropped off in the modern Greek word. In this case, less is still less (a play on words here).

In the case of "less", the leading «ο» (omicron) sounded like a definite article and dropped off over time.

Like many Indo-European languages, Greek nouns have a gender, which may or may not have anything to do with the gender of humans, animals, etc. Adjectives need to agree by gender (and number and person, etc.). The Greek definite articles (nominative case, singular) are the following.

"ο" (o) ≈ "the - masculine"
"η" (ee) ≈ "the - feminine"
"το" (to) ≈ "the - neuter"

More: Pronouns

Many PIE languages have a case and gender system. This idea is sometimes called "grammatical gender".

The German word "der Mann" ≈ "the man" which is masculine.
The German word "die Frau" ≈ "the woman" which is feminine.
The German word "das Kind" ≈ "the child, baby, unborn child" which is neuter.

More: Pronouns

In some languages, such as German, the "grammatical gender" may be at times arbitrary.

The German word "das Messer" ≈ "the knife" which is neuter.
The German word "die Gabel" ≈ "the fork" which is feminine.
The German word "der Löffel" ≈ "the spoon" which is masculine.

More: Pronouns

The phenomena of adding letters or dropping letters is not uncommon and develops over time based on how people hear a word.

For baseball fans, the numpire calls balls and strikes. Is that correct?
For cooks, it can be good to wear a napron. Is that correct?
For outdoor hikers, have you ever encountered a nadder. Is that correct?

More: Adding and dropping letters

The ancient Greek word "οψάρι" (o-PSA-ree) ≈ "fish" (noun) was used for fish that was out of water and ready to eat or be prepared to eat, as in the following verse. This word (prefix) appears 5 times in the Greek NT (New Testament) all in the Gospel of John.
The modern Greek word "ψάρι" (PSA-ree) ≈ "fish" (noun) comes from the previous word with the omission of the leading omicron "ο".

Over time, the leading «ο» (omicron), sounding like the Greek masculine definite article "ο" (oh) ≈ "the", disappeared.

The ancient and still used modern Greek word "ιχθύς" (ee-KHTHEES) ≈ "fish" (noun), which is a fish still in the water.
The ancient and modern Greek word "αλιεύω" (a-lee-EV-o) ≈ "fish" (verb) refers to the fisherman more than to the fish.

More: Fish as IXTHUS

The general historical linguistics term for this phenomena is "rebracketing" or "resegmentation" or "metanalysis".

Example: A meat patty originating in Hamburg being considered a "burger" with "ham".

another (an other)
auger (nauger)
decoy (the coy, in Dutch)
humble pie (numble pie)
lone (all one)
nickname (an ekename to neke name)
omelet (nomelet)

From Wikipedia.

A 2 year old grandson (2020-12-20) liked watching the Disney animation "Monsters Inc". He said he wanted to watch "Monster Sync".

ajar (from the Scottish "a char" meaning "turned a little way")
alligator from the Spanish word "el lagarto" ≈ "lizard", an alligator being a type of lizard.
alone (from all one)
atone (from at one)

From Wikipedia.

In English, as in other languages, words are often shortened over time. Here are some examples.

"indeed" as "deed, that's right"
"je-et?" for "Did you eat?"

To many, alligators and crocodiles are similar reptiles.

To start with, an alligator has a wide snout and is black while a crocodile has a pointy snout and has an olive-green color.

Alligators, is in the Florida Gators, are native to the United States (and parts of China) while crocodiles are found many places in the world.

More: Alligators and crocodiles