preview

What Does The Word Environment Mean?

Decent Essays

Oἶκος. “I speak English. What is this foreign language you speak to me in?” These are the words you may expect to hear from an individual who does not understand the importance of language, the importance of breaking down a word so that one can fully understand its meaning. The word presented is the Greek spelling for “Oikos.” The word is the ancient Greek equivalent of a household, house, or family. This word also serves as the English prefix eco- for ecology and economics. Understanding language is essential for understanding the meaning of a term for a problem at hand. For example, the word “A capella” in modern translation means “without instrumental music”. However, the term “A capella” come from the Latin term: “at the chapel” or “from the chapel”. It originally referred to “the style of music used in the church.” The main point here is that language is important in terms of defining the meaning of a word. The definition of ecology, derived from oikos, is the study of interactions among organisms and their environment. The main word I want to focus on is the word “environment”. What does the word “Environment” mean? It is often thrown around by people as a term that is unproblematic and needs no discussion or clarification. Is it as simple as people try and make it out to be? It is essential to try and dismantle such terms; to define them in a way that we can begin to conceptualize them. In order to help one understand how to conceptualize the term “environment”,

Get Access