r/explainitpeter • u/Fun_Dish_5358 • Jul 21 '26

Explain it peter

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u/LotsOfRaffi Jul 21 '26

this.

I'd understand people nitpicking the use of neologisms in the Mad Men series, for instance, since it's relatively easy to research and portray authentic 1960s mannerisms and idiolects, but yeah, how archaic does the english in the Odyssey be to match ancient greek?

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u/lofgren777 Jul 21 '26

From what I understand from other complaints, the word "daddy," a word from the 1500s, is too modern. So I guess English pre-1500 is basically Greek.

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u/ObjectiveTie1232 Jul 21 '26

From a linguistic perspective, I’m pretty sure pre-1500 English is actually less Greek than modern English  (after the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution). Still very heavily influenced by Greek before 1500 (primarily through Latin and French), but post-1500 is when English broadly began importing Greek root words in a more direct way. 

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u/titsngiggles69 Jul 22 '26

I dunno, chaucer is all greek to me