Chrysti the Wordsmith > Radio Scripts

The Greek word anthropos is the matriarch of a large family of modern English terms, such as anthropology, anthropomorphic, anthropocentric, anthropophagy, misanthrope.

Anthropos means man, humankind, or human being. This Greek-based root is best showcased in the term anthropology, the science of human beings, specifically the study of their customs, languages, beliefs and physical characteristics.

To assign human attributes to animals or inanimate objects is to anthropomorphise them -- an activity common among animal lovers, who often attribute human emotion to their pets or create human language dialogues for them. We rely on anthropomorphic simile when we speak of, for example, the hands of time, the eye of a needle or the teeth of a storm.

Anthropocentric literally means "centering on human beings." The doctrine of anthropocentrism asserts that the universe revolves around humankind, and that all things must be interpreted in terms of human values.

The unusual word anthropophagy is simply a Greek based synonym for cannabalism. The bizarre "anthropophagy" literally means "the eating of humans."

And finally, we come to misanthrope, which is also a member in good standing of the anthropos, or "mankind" family. Combined with a form of the Greek word for hate, miseo, misanthrope refers to a jaundiced, unfortunate "hater of human beings."

Radio Script > Anthropos