Oral Expression IIIAn etymological research about the meaning

of the word “Crisis”

Hypotheses

Sanskrit origin (KRI):

crisis x crucible (Sanskrit)

crise (crisis) x crisol (melting pot) /

krísis (κρίση ) x khrysos (Χρυσος) (gold)

crisis = danger + opportunity in Mandarin

Methodology

Research in dictionariesData collection by means of questionnairesResearch in scientific papers

“Tragedy or drama?”,by Leonardo Boff

Brazil and the whole world find themselves immersed in a deep crisis. It's not just structural but relational, since it destroys our sense of living together. It could be a tragedy, which could have a devastating ending, like in Greek theatre, or a drama with a happy conclusion, as in the Christian liturgy. Whether it is one or the other depends on us and our ability to decide. But there is a growing awareness that we are approaching the moment when we must decide, or else the crisis will no longer be able to be drama but will change into a collective tragedy.(...)

Sanskrit...Crisis represents purification and an opportunity for growth. We don't have to resort to the Chinese word "crisis" to know its meaning. It's enough to remember the Sanskrit — the womb of our language. In Sanskrit, "crisis" comes from kir or kri, which means to purify and clean. From kri comes "crucible", a chemical element with which we cleanse cheap gold, and to refine means to purify. Therefore crisis is a critical process — the purification of the essence. Only what is real and substantial remains. What is transient and added on disappears. Another order is built from the essence.

Greek...But no process of purification can occur without cuts and breaks. That is why a decision is needed. The decision produces a break with the past and inaugurates the new. At this point the Greek meaning of "crisis" can help us. Krisis, "crisis" in Greek, means the decision made by a judge or a doctor. The judge weighs and evaluates the pros and cons and the doctor considers the combination of various symptoms and then they each decide the type of sentence or ailment. This decision making process is called "crisis". (…)

Brazil...Brazil postpones its crises because its leaders, even under the PT, lack the historic boldness to make the decisions that place a roadblock in the path of evil. They always make concessions under the guise of governability, thus preserving the privileges of the elite. (...)

BOFF, Leonardo. Tragedy or drama? Retrieved from <http://leonardoboff.com/siteeng/vista/2004/jan23.htm>.

Collection of Synchronic Data

(1) “Crisis is a change that happens in difficult conditions”

(4) “Crisis for me is the fight between reason and my will”

(5) “For me, crisis is the lack of harmony of our being with the

environment inside which we live or the conflict between both

parts and then it involves professional, sentimental, spiritual

and familiar issues”

(6) "Crisis is a situation in which something stable risks ceasing

to exist as it is. So, crisis is the instability that represents a risk

to something.”

(7) “An incident that requires attention.”

(8) “It is something that has run away from what had been planned,

then it brings about a crisis. It may be something that doesn’t want

to come to consensus with another thing, then a crisis takes place

between two persons. Crisis may also be something existential, for

example: I bought something for some amount of money, I invested

my money, and my expectations weren’t fulfilled, that generates a

crisis for the investor. That may be financial, physical, sentimental

or anything that escapes from what is being planned.”

(9) “ When anything is normal. Everything changed for the worse.”

(10) “It means problem”

(11) “Crisis is the peak of the problem.”

(12) “Crisis is a situation of a problem without an immediate or

apparent control.”

Concepts: Houaiss – ‘crise’ (pt)

“crise s.f. (sXVIII) 1 MED o momento que define a evolução de uma doença (para melhor ou pior) 2 MED dor paroxística, com distúrbio funcional em um órgão. 3 estado de súbito desequilíbrio ou desajuste nervoso, emocional <c. de nervos> <c. de choro> 4 eventual manifestação repentina de um sentimento, agradável ou desagradável <c. de amabilidade, de ciúme> 5 estado de incerteza, vacilação ou declínio <c. de fé> 6 episódio desgastante, complicado; situação de tensão, disputa, conflito <na c. albanesa, caiu o governo maoísta> <envolveu-se em dilacerante c. amorosa> 7 situação de falta, escassez, carência <c de matéria-prima> <c do abastecimento> 8 ECON grave desequilíbrio conjuntural entre a produção e o consumo, acarretando aviltamento dos preços e/ou da moeda, onda de falências, desemprego ect. 8.1 fase de transição entre um surto de prosperidade e outro de depressão ou vice-versa. (...) ETIM lat. Crisis, is ‘momento de mudança súbita, crise (MED)’, do gr. Krísis, eos ‘ação ou faculdade de distinguir, decisão, momento difícil’

Concepts: Napoleão ‘crise’ (pt)

“Hypocrisy: (...) the words comes from the Greek ‘hypocrínomai’ that means “to interpret”. Its cognates are the vernacular words ‘crisis’, which etymologically means change, separation, and critic, the art of ascertaining the truth.”

Etymology – ‘crise’ (pt)

“Crise, s. Do gr. Krisis <<acto ou faculdade de distinguir; acto de escolher, escolha, eleição, ato de separar, dissentimento, contestação; (...) acto de decidir; decisão, julgamento (de uma questão, de uma dúvida); (...) o que resolve qualquer coisa, solução, decisão, resultado (de guerra); fase decisiva de doença, crise; explicação, interpretação de sonho>>, pelo lat. Crisis, usado sobretudo em sentido médico; houve certamente intervenção do fr. Crise. Em 1813, Morais”. (Machado, 1987)

Houaiss: crisis (lat)“momento de mudança súbita, crise MED”. krísis (gr) “faculdade de distinguir, decisão, momento difícil”.

Etymology – ‘crisis’ (eng)

• “Early 15th century, from Latinized form of Greek krisis "turning point in a disease" (used as such by Hippocrates and Galen), literally "judgment, result of a trial, selection," from krinein "to separate, decide, judge," from PIE root *krei- "to sieve, discriminate, distinguish" (cf. Greek krinesthai (...)). Transferred non-medical sense is 1620s in English. (...)”

• [Middle English, from Latin, judgment, from Greek krisis, from krinein, to separate, judge; see krei- in Indo-European roots.]

‘Crucible’Crucible (n.)

1. A vessel made of a refractory substance such as graphite or porcelain, used for melting and calcining materials at high temperatures.

2. A severe test, as of patience or belief; a trial. (...)

3. A place, time, or situation characterized by the confluence of powerful intellectual, social, economic, or political forces: "Macroeconomics . . . was cast in the crucible of the Depression" (Peter Passell).

[Middle English crucible, from Medieval Latin crucibulum, night-light, crucible, possibly from Old French croisuel, cresset; (...)]

Etymology – ‘crucible’ (eng)

“Crucible (n.): Early 15th century, from Medieval Latin crucibulum "melting pot for metals," originally "night lamp." First element might be Middle High German kruse "earthen pot." Or perhaps it is from Latin crux on some fancied resemblance to a cross. Used of any severe test or trial since 1640s.”

‘Crisol’ (pt)“crisol s.m. (1563) 1 recipiente utilizado para experiências químicas em que se

têm de misturar ou fundir substâncias, metais; cadinho. 2 p.metf. lugar ou

circunstância apropriada a evidenciar as melhores qualidades de algo ou

alguém. 3 p.metf. lugar ou circunstância apropriada a apurar os sentimentos.

(...) ETIM. Esp. ‘crisol’ ‘recipiente para fundir metais a temperatura elevada’”

(Houaiss, 2009)

Bueno: “espanhol, ‘crisol’; francês, ‘creuset’; italiano, ‘crogiólo’; provençal,

‘cruzol’ (...) Battisti e Alessio acham que vem do lat. chrysosylum (vas), do gr.

Khrysoylos de matéria de ouro (khrysos ouro; hylè, matéria). Foi no início um

vaso que servia para iluminação de igrejas”.

khrysos, (khrysos) “ouro”.

Acrisolar (to refine)

“acrisolar v. (1645-1647) 1 METAL t.d. tirar as impurezas de (metal precioso), purificar no crisol; copilar. 2 t.d. e pron./p.ext. dar ou adquirir qualidades superiores ou excelentes, aperfeiçoar(-se), apurar(-se) <acrisolar a teoria por meio da prática> <seu estilo de redigir acrisolou-se> 3 t.d. e pron. purificar(-se) moralmente por meio de provas, dores, sofrimento. <os deuses acrisolam o homem> <acrisolava-se com resignação, devido a sua crença religiosa> ETIM a- + crisol + -ar” (Houaiss, 2009)

It is possible to verify that the Greek etymons for the words crisis (eng) and crisol (port)/crucible (eng) are not the same, which prevents us from contemplating a potential relationship, based on the Greek etymons, between these words.

“krísiv, ewv (h) 1 ação de separar, de distinguir; triagem 2 ação de escolher; escolha; seleção 3 ação de julgar, de decidir; julgamento; decisão (...) 4 aptidão para decidir; discernimento 5 Jur. julgamento; processo (...) 8 solução; êxito; desenlace; resultado (...) 9 disputa; luta; contestação 10 Medic. crise; fase crítica de uma doença (...)” (Malhadas, Dezotti e Neves, 2008)

Partial considerations‘crisol’ and ‘acrisolar’ (port): these words may have originated from the Greek etymon Χρυσος (gold), which transliterated becomes khrysos (“Latin spelling: chrysus).They haven’t originated from krísi.

Boff suggests the relationship between ‘crisis’ and ‘crucible/to refine’ (crisol/acrisolar) only when he refers to a possible origin back in Sanskrit.

SanskritMeaning of the Sanskrit word Kri:

Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon: “kR to purify (...)”. This seems to be the entry that most closely matches the word suggested by Boff.

Hypothesis: a possible influence of this Indo-Iranian language on the Greek language at some moment in diachrony. Another research possibility would be to look for the origin of the etymon inside the Indo-European itself.

Crisis = Danger + Opportunity

“(...) When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters - one represents danger and one represents opportunity. The danger signs are all around us. (...)”

KENNEDY, John F. Remarks at the Convocation of the United Negro College Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana: 12/04/1959,

Chinese characters

MisconceptionsTo consider the Chinese word for crisis as a single grapheme, when in fact it is made up of two syllables: weiji is made up of wei and ji, two different characters (wēijī)

To define ji as ‘opportunity’. Weiji really means ‘crisis’ and wei conveys the notion of ‘danger’, but ji definitely doesn’t mean ‘opportunity’. This character bears the notion of “incipient moment; crucial point (at which something begins to chang)”. So, “a weiji is indeed a genuine crisis, a dangerous moment, a time when things start to go awry. A weiji indicates a perilous situation when one should be especially wary. It is not a juncture when one goes looking for advantages and benefits”.

Jihuì = opportunityji, when inserted into multi syllabic words, may acquire hundreds of secondary meanings, such as “insightful (insight); ingenious” and “machine; appliance”

‘opportunity’ in Mandarin is jihuì, in which huì conveys the notion of ‘occasion’. Thus, ji can’t mean opportunity singly. It is only when ji is associated with huì, that it can create the meaning of ‘opportunity’.

Ex: airplane doesn’t mean air+plane

Final ConsiderationsThe etymological meaning of ‘crisis’ as a word derived from the Greek carries the notion of change and this notion seems to be underlying almost all the answers collected by means of the inquiry of speakers.

The Greek etymon for ‘crisis’ is not the same for ‘crisol/acrisolar’ (crucible/to refine). The Greek word from which ‘crisis’ derives is ‘Krisis’ and the word that originated ‘crisol/acrisolar’ is ‘khrysos’, which means 'gold'. This finding weakens the rhetorical argument according to which ‘crisis’ may have any connotation of time for purification, for example.

The relationship between the Sanskrit ‘kri’ and the words ‘crisis’ and ‘crisol/acrisolar/crucible’, is not as clear as Boff presents it. A research on the historical development of Sanskrit could confirm (or not) a potential influence of this Indo-Iranian language on the Greek language at some moment in history. Searching for the origin of the etymon inside Indo-European itself could also show a common etymon from which both Greek and Sanskrit words have originated.

The statement that in Mandarin 'danger + opportunity' is equal to ‘crisis’ (weiji) is not fully true. The second character, ‘ji’, depending on the context in which it is inserted, may acquire multiple meanings, hence the impossibility of inferring an original meaning from the sum wei + ji.

Further research may define, for example, if there is a family relationship between ‘Krisis’ (crisis) and ‘kri’ and between ‘khrysos’ (gold) and ‘kri’.

References

ALMEIDA, Napoleão Mendes de. Dicionário de Questões Vernáculas. São Paulo: Ática, 2001.BOFF, Leonardo. Jornal Folha de São Paulo - Caderno Opinião (Tendências /Debates). 07/07/1983. p.3.BUENO, Francisco da Silveira. Grande Dicionário etimológico-prosódico da Língua Portuguesa. São Paulo: Saraiva, 1963.Dicionário de Grego-Português Português-Grego. Porto, Portugal: Porto Editora, 1997.MACHADO, José Pedro. Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa. Lisboa: Horizonte, 1987.MALHADAS, Daisi; DEZOTTI, Maria C. C. e NEVES, Maria H. de Moura. Dicionário grego-português. Cotia, SP: Ateliê Editorial, 2008.HOUAISS, Antônio e VILLAR, Mauro de Salles. Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, 2009.

Online ReferencesBOFF, Leonardo. Tragedy or drama? Retrieved from <http://leonardoboff.com/site-eng/vista/2004/jan23.htm>. Free translation from the Spanish provided by AnneFullerton@mybluelight.com. Done in Arlington, VA in cooperation with Refugio del Rio Grande, Texas.Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon. Disponível em <http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/tamil/index.html>. Acesso em 5/10/2011.CORREIA, Margarida. “O léxico na economia da língua” in Ciência da Informação, vol. 24, número 3, 1995. Disponível em <http://revista.ibict.br/index.php/ciinf/article/view/522>. Acesso em 31/10/2011.KENNEDY, John F. Remarks at the Convocation of the United Negro College Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana: 12/04/1959, disponível em <http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Remarks-at-the-Convocation-of-the-United-Negro-College-Fund-Indianapolis-Indiana-April-12-1959.aspx>. Acesso em 28/10/2011MAIR, Victor. How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 09/2009, disponível em <http://www.pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html>. Acesso em 28/10/2011