Pheme

Pheme

In Greek mythology, Pheme (Greek: Φήμη, Roman equivalent: Fama) was the personification of fame and renown, her favour being fame, her wrath being scandalous rumors. She was a daughter of Gaia, was described as "she who initiates and furthers communication" and had an altar at Athens. A tremendous gossip, Pheme was said to have pried into the affairs of mortals and gods, then repeated what she learned, starting off at first with just a dull whisper, but repeating it louder each time, until everyone knew. In art, she was usually depicted with wings and a trumpet. In Roman mythology, Fama ("rumor") was described as having multiple tongues, eyes, ears and feathers by Virgil and other authors. She is also described as living in a home with 1000 windows so she could hear all being said in the world. Virgil wrote that she "had her feet on the ground, and her head in the clouds, making the small seem great and the great seem greater."

Linguistic associations

The Greek word "pheme" (fay-may) translates to English as "fame", or "rumor" depending on its context. English words such as "fame" are also born from the Latin word "fama" ("report"), similar to the Latin "fari" ("to speak").


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  • Pheme — bzw. Fama der Dresdner Kunstakademie Pheme (Φημη) ist in der griechischen Mythologie eine Gottheit. In der römischen Mythologie entspricht der Pheme die Fama. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pheme — words as grammatical units in a language, 1906, coined by U.S. philosopher C.S. Pierce (1839 1914), from Gk. pheme (see FAME (Cf. fame)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • phème — ⇒PHÈME, subst. masc. ,,Trait phonique distinctif dans un ensemble donné de phonèmes (POTTIER Ling. gén. 1974). Un phonème, ou unité non significative minimale, est la formalisation, dans une langue donnée, d un ensemble de traits pertinents… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • pheme — blas·pheme; mor·pheme; phi·los·o·pheme; pol·y·pheme; …   English syllables

  • phème — blasphème graphème morphème …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • pheme — …   Useful english dictionary

  • blas|pheme — «blas FEEM», verb, phemed, phem|ing. –v.t. 1. to speak about (God or sacred things) with abuse or contempt: »Thou didst blaspheme God and the king (I Kings 21:10). SYNONYM(S): profane. 2. to curse; revile; abuse: »They blaspheme the muse ( …   Useful english dictionary

  • mor|pheme — «MR feem», noun. Linguistics. the smallest part of a word that has meaning of its own. Morphemes may be words, prefixes, suffixes, or endings that show inflection. In the word carelessness, the morphemes are care, less, and ness. »A morpheme does …   Useful english dictionary

  • blas·pheme — …   Useful english dictionary

  • mor·pheme — …   Useful english dictionary

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