I studied Ancient Greek in college, and we had a lesson once on how the meaning of words is enriched and expanded over time; an instance given was the word psuxe (from which comes 'psycho' and everything associated with it). To the later philosophers, it means 'mind' or 'soul', the invisible animate force. In pre-Homeric Greece, it is said to have meant merely, 'breath'.
I listened to my father snoring one night, long gurgling rasps followed by violent expulsions of wind; he'd broken his nose twice and had some windpipe troubles, so his snoring was extra dramatic. Suddenly I heard that word. Psu - in the exhale, then che - drawing in again. Suddenly I 'knew' where the word came from, and understood that all its meanings had been in it from the start. It is the difference between a sleeping person and a dead person.
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