Posted on 12/15/2006 5:45:53 AM PST by Alissa
The first time I heard the word "mendacity" was in the film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." I loved the way Burl Ives's character spits out the word as something vile and unacceptable.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where untruthfulness is routinely accepted and even mandated by politicians, union leaders, and members of the press. New York is the headquarters of the biggest producer of mendacity, the New York Times. Fortunately, it's also the home of the antidote, Lucianne.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
ALICIAGender: Feminine
Usage: Spanish, English
Pronounced: a-LEE-sya (Spanish), a-LEE-thya (Spanish), a-LIS-a (English), a-LIS-ya (English), a-LISH-a (English), a-LEE-sha (English) [key] Latinized form of ALICE
The ancient Greek word for 'truth' is alêtheia. This word appears in the Spanish pronunciation of 'Alicia' mentioned above: a-LEE-thya. That's the link to which Alicia Colon refers when she says her name means 'truth'. She's correct.
Then all the people who research name etymologies are wrong. (Which is unlikely.)
If you knew Ancient Greek, you'd know that alêtheia is a long way from Alicia, pronunciation-wize.
In English Alethea is the name derived from alêtheia. Not Alice.
Origin and Meaning of Alethea
The girl's name Alethea is pronounced ah-lee-THEE-ah. It is of Greek origin, and its meaning is "verity, truth." A learned coinage, not found before the 16th century. Mythology: goddess of truth. See also Althea.
Alethea has 14 variant forms: Alathea, Alathia, Aleethia, Aleta, Aletea, Aletha, Alethia, Aletia, Aletta, Alette, Alithea, Alithia, Elethea and Elithia.
For more information, see also the related name Olethea. Search for names similar to Alethea starting with Al-, Ale-, Alet- or ending with -ea, -hea, -thea, -ethea, -lethea.
http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Alethea
Why Alcia is wrong etymologically is because the Greek word a-lethea is an "alpha-privative." It actually means un-forgettalbe (lethe being forget, etc.).
So Alicia is not a etymological derivative because of alêtheia becuase it completely lacks the root of the word -- lethe.
HA! Thanks for that link. It was FReeper RabdallFlagg on #58.
Made a great tagline.
Here's a link that explicitly relates 'Alicia' to 'truth':
http://www.zelo.com/firstnames/findresults.asp?name=Alicia
On this list, the following names are associated with 'truthful' (oddly, 'Alicia' doesn't appear on the list at all, but 'Alyssia' is close):
Alison, Allison, Allsun, Allyse, Allyson, Alyse, Alyson, Alyssia
On that same list, the following names are associated with 'noble':
Ada, Adalia, Adela, Adelaide, Adele, Adelheide, Adelheid, Adette, Aleece, Alisa, Alise, Alliss, Allyce, Alyce, Alys, Alyss
There's room for some confusion in these matters, clearly.
"Even if it's a false cognate, it's usage that counts."
Not in etymology. Sorry.
East of Knoxville all the way to the Ashville area is 'God's Country'. I'll sell to you a house in East TN that has grown too large for just me and two old cats (3400 sq ft; 3 or 4 bdrms, 3 1/2 baths; wonderful wrap-around porch front and side; in a growing suburb of Johnson City, TN). I might even lease it, to the right folks.
Alice Female Greek/Teutonic Greek: The wise counsellor, or the truthful one. Teutonic: Noble. The name became popular after the publication of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books. Also see Alicia and Alison. Alicia Female Greek/Teutonic Greek: The wise counsellor, or the truthful one. Teutonic: Noble. A form of Alice, but often used as an independent name.
These entries support my position, I think you'll agree. Note that 'noble' derives from the later Teutonic, 'truthful one' from the earlier Greek (and so, clearly, from the word alêtheia).
But, be that as it may, I'm not an etymologist. The point I made in my original post was simply based on what you posted in your original post. It's quite easy to see why Alicia Colon (and other Alicias) could believe that the name 'Alicia' means 'truth' (or some variant thereof such as 'truthful one' or 'truth-teller'). The table entries above document it; also, I earlier posted a link to a website that holds it to be the case. The connection may seem to you to be etymologically tenuous (although it doesn't to me), but it has some currency in the world at large. And it also seems clear that the Spanish pronunciation that you first cited suggests that Spanish-speakers do sense a connection between 'Alicia' and the English 'Alethea'.
The upshot? There is in fact justification for Alicia Colon holding that 'Alicia' means 'truth' (or 'truthful one' or something similar). That was my original and only point.
Regards to you...
The same site to which you link also provide this for Spanish names:
Alatea - meanings, origins, and famous namesakes of the name Alatea
Alatea
Truth.
Origin: Spanish from Greek
Gender: Girl
http://www.babynamenetwork.com/baby_names/detail.cfm?name=Alatea&gender=Female
Alicia surely does believe her name means truth. But that doesn't make it so.
And it contradicts her general point of truth before all.
How very nice of you!! Though the house sounds lovely, I don't know what I would do with 3400 sq feet of house; other than convert it into a B&B or hold massive FReeper Rallies in it.
But please tell me a little bit about this area of Tennessee. Peace and quiet is what I have in mind; peace and quiet and beauty. I'd like to get away from the rat race of the suburbs.
Thank you again, "MHGinTN", and now I'm going to go and look this section of Tennessee up on the map.
Nancee
just for the record what does WELDON (my 1st name ) mean ?
But I agree with your point that Alicia could find support for her theory, if she wanted to.
Regards.
Done with him, too... just another FauxNEWS, IMHO.
Alicia surely does believe her name means truth. But that doesn't make it so.
But her name does hearken back to alêtheia, the Greek word for 'truth', as I originally pointed out and have subsequently backed up with several links. So her belief is warranted (she simply didn't mention—and perhaps doesn't know—that 'Alicia' also has the meaning of 'noble'). Nor does the existence of other names that have a more direct connection with the Greek word for 'truth' invalidate her belief. Names are plentiful, and are often variations on a single theme.
Your original post begins like this:
"My name, Alicia, means truth, so here it is."No, it doesn't.
I think I've shown that this simple denial is false.
In my original post, I used part of your post to note a connection between alêtheia and 'Alicia' (at least in one of its Spanish pronunciations). After subsequent internet poking around, I turned up additional evidence (of a sort) for this connection. So my original point is correct; there is such a connection.
You were correct to note the 'noble' meaning of 'Alicia', but overlooked the connection to 'truth' (through alêtheia).
That's my summary take on the results of our conversation, Sam. Thanks for stimulating me to do a little sleuthing about the name 'Alicia'; I certainly knew nothing at all about it before this afternoon.
You're missing the very basic point that I have tried to stress repeatedly. That is, aLICia is almost certainly not derived from the Ancient Greek aLETHia.
In etymology the root is all. And those words have different roots.
My last post was to point out that the Spanish name aLATea might be a more likely derivation.
It's a minor point. But I don't believe anybody who looked at this closely would say that you can get to Alicia from Alethia.
But it's not worth this much time to argue. But it is sloppy work on those name pages that have made the claim, I believe.
I don't know. But my real life name means "illustrious through hostage taking."
(I'm not kidding.)
wanna job finding Osama ??????????
hehehe
Unfortunately, his first response, "No" to the question Mr. Levin posed, "Are we winning in Iraq"? was the only thing that anyone who watched any news coverage of the hearing likely saw. I don't watch ANY evening news shows, so I couldn't say for sure, but I think it extremely unlikely that most Americans ever heard the longer answer Mr. Gates gave to the committee, and that kind of "news bite" reporting is why so many are unsupportive of our efforts in Iraq nowadays. They are only getting half the story at most; the negative half.
BUMP!!!
I was here during the days when "Trixie" posted. I believe she was the one who coined the word "Freeper."
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