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  1. eunoia love

Definitions

Wiktionary

  1. n. rhetoric Goodwill towards an audience, either perceived or real; the perception that the speaker has the audience's interest at heart.
  2. n. medicine, psychology A state of normal adult mental health.

Etymologies

  1. From Ancient Greek εὔνοια (eunoia, "goodwill", literally "beautiful thinking"), from εὖ (eu, "well, good") + νόος (noos, "mind, spirit"). (Wiktionary)

Examples

  • “Together, teacher and pupils shared the love that transforms the world through action and compassion, which was called eunoia.”

    Simon & Schuster: The Poet Prince

  • “Wanting what is good for the sake of another he calls “good will” (eunoia), and friendship is reciprocal good will, provided that each recognizes the presence of this attitude in the other.”

    Aristotle's Ethics

  • “The Greeks established very clear distinctions between these diverse natures of philia or eros, on the one hand, and, on the other, agapē or disinterested affection (a term with a promising future in Christianity), storge or tenderness, eunoia or good will, charis or the love of gratitude.”

    LOVE

  • “An important tactic related to this valuable gift is eunoia, or having Medici's best interests at heart, after all Machiavelli has not "... embellished or crammed this book with rounded periods or big, impressive words, or with any blandishment or superfluous decoration ...”

    Soob

  • “Without resorting to the French oiseau, I can even supply a six-letter example that English took over from Greek: eunoia ` alertness of mind, 'listed in Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary.”

    Verbatim: VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol III No 2

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tags (3)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. greek
  1. euoia
  1. eu-

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Comments

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  • bookhling I like how this word sounds for some reason. Might actually become my new favorite word. Jul 12, 2009

  • bilby Ha, well spotted yarb. I corrected another tpyo in the u chapter when I posted the sample on Wordie. I wonder if the BBC spellchequer was a bit overactive on these. Cupertino effect :-) And quite disastrous in this case. Oct 30, 2008

  • yarb That's brilliant - but why is the Greek fire brigade involved? Perhaps the Greek freemen would be more appropriate. Oct 30, 2008

  • mollusque Thanks, bilby! You can send it to my home address. Oct 30, 2008

  • bilby "...It is also the title of Canadian poet Christian Bok's book of fiction in which each chapter uses only one vowel."
    - 'Beautiful vowels', BBC website.

    Excerpt from CHAPTER E - FOR RENE CREVEL

    Westerners revere the Greek legends. Versemen retell the represented events, the resplendent scenes, where, hellbent, the Greek firemen seek revenge whenever Helen, the new-wed empress, weeps. Restless, she deserts her fleece bed where, detested, her wedded regent sleeps. When she remembers Greece, her seceded demesne, she feels wretched, left here, bereft, her needs never met. She needs rest; nevertheless, her demented fevers render her sleepless (her sleeplessness enfeebles her). She needs help; nevertheless her stressed nerves render her cheerless (her cheerlessness enfetters her). Oct 30, 2008

  • reesetee That must really eunoia, mollusque, that you can't find more citations for this word.

    *ducks to avoid objects hurled at head* Apr 16, 2008

  • mollusque Sometimes said to be the shortest English word with all the vowels. However, I haven't been able to find instances where "eunoia" is used without italics or without its definition appended ("goodwill" or "benevolence"). So it seems not be naturalized in English; it is a Greek word discussed in English works.

    Another meaning for eunoia is found in a few dictionaries of psychology or medicine: "the healthy mind" or "alertness of mind and will". I haven't found this sense used outside of dictionaries. Apr 16, 2008

  • recombinantdna my hypothesis:

    eu- 'well, good'

    "noia" = nous + -ia (as in paranoia)

    where nous means 'mind, intellect'
    and -ia is a noun suffix (found in anemia and phobia)

    (all greek) Apr 16, 2008

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‘eunoia’ has been looked up 7144 times, loved by 21 people, added to 40 lists, commented on 8 times, and is not a valid Scrabble word.