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[Facts] Cool stuff Pavlos
I came across another theory which states that theos is related to the same root responsible for thessasthai meaning "to pray".To run or to pray? Perhaps the etymology varies depending on your level of devotion?
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Thanks Mike!
Depending on one's level of devotion, it may also me related to the word "thao", meaning "to suck" (Liddell-Scott) :P
But seriously, "thessastai" is also related to the verb "theto" meaning to "set,put,place" (Liddell-Scott), which in turn is related to "theory". A couple of months ago I speculated in a posting that "theory" itself maybe related to "theos" and "orizein/orion", i.e., "to define one's God". Cant prove this conclusively, but it makes sense to me :)
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theos also comes from *dhes-
*dhēs-, Proto-Indo-European root forming words for religious concepts. Possibly an extension of PIE root *dhe- "to set, put."
....according to mainstream PIE scholars...
this seems far-fetched to me... they want to deny that theos θεός and deus are related, so they invent a connection between god "to set, put" rather than "to shine" as is claimed as root meaning for deus.
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