Root words of polyamory

Contributor: Mia Fey Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ever since I learned that the word polyamory has been attached to this and I thought I would ask about it. Has anyone else noticed that those are two completely different roots? "Poly" is a Greek root which means "many" and "amory" is a Latin root for "love". It really should be Polyeros or Polyphilia or Multusamory. Also, comment if you have an opinion on this or if it bothers you that the roots are not the same. (Cause it is weird and bothers me even though it isn't a big deal, just curious what other people think)
Answers (public voting - your screen name will appear in the results):
I had no idea.
EdenJP , voenne , hall5885 , badk1tty , PeaceToTheMiddleEast , ViVix , klyte , Strider , biolysis , U3H , MDuffy , luv 2 sex
12  (21%)
I already knew.
Ghost , Airen Wolf , namelesschaos , Sir , Coralbell , Ms. Spice , CrystaCat , Pixel , callsignhusker , Mirachaya , Tangles , ghalik , InnocentISwear , Incendiaire , Crystal1 , DeliciousSurprise , VelvetDragon , thekindthorn , Phosphorous Tick , Gina RPG Geek , SubmissiveFeminist , Mistress Dragon , Gone (LD29) , travelnurse , britanny0620 , PDXlady , pirkit , MissMori , oohlookasquirrel , violets , SmutGeek , geekkink , aluminummm , damnbul12 , Stinkytofu10 , Lady of the Lab , richsam , Feisty , Nymeria , Creepellah , novanilla , earthmama , femmepwr , Eugler
44  (77%)
Wha..... What?
Baby-Baby
1  (2%)
Total votes: 57
Poll is closed
02/04/2012
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Contributor: EdenJP EdenJP
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
I had no idea.
02/04/2012
Contributor: Ghost Ghost
There are many words like this, but it doesn't bother me much.
02/05/2012
Contributor: Baby-Baby Baby-Baby
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
I'm in a open relationship and I like it yet at times its confusing and awkward.
02/05/2012
Contributor: Tagmstr Tagmstr
Quote:
Originally posted by Ghost
There are many words like this, but it doesn't bother me much.
This is how I feel too lol
02/05/2012
Contributor: Airen Wolf Airen Wolf
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
It is composed of different roots to be inclusive and was actually well thought out before it was used the first time. It sounds loving and has a soft sound in it's syllables. It is as close to it's loving counterpart as it can be: monogamy. This wasn't an ignorant coupling of root words it was a thoughtful combining. It doesn't bother me as I have always been fond of and loved Morning Glory Zell. To hear her speak on the evolution of the term was amazing and enlightening.
Far from bothering me I actually love the term!
02/05/2012
Contributor: voenne voenne
Quote:
Originally posted by Ghost
There are many words like this, but it doesn't bother me much.
Very true.

Fun facts, though!
02/05/2012
Contributor: namelesschaos namelesschaos
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
It is composed of different roots to be inclusive and was actually well thought out before it was used the first time. It sounds loving and has a soft sound in it's syllables. It is as close to it's loving counterpart as it can be: monogamy. ... more
I agree the term was actually very well thought out and fitting.
02/05/2012
Contributor: CrystaCat CrystaCat
There are other words like this too they just want to confuse people!
02/05/2012
Contributor: callsignhusker callsignhusker
interesting thread, thanks!
02/07/2012
Contributor: Tangles Tangles
I learned about that at the queer alliance at my school. It's interesting.
04/02/2012
Contributor: Incendiaire Incendiaire
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
The word "television" has the same problem.
04/16/2012
Contributor: badk1tty badk1tty
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
now I'm annoyed, and I'm going to be polyeros from here on out
04/20/2012
Contributor: PeaceToTheMiddleEast PeaceToTheMiddleEast
Thanks for the info.
04/20/2012
Contributor: VelvetDragon VelvetDragon
It doesn't bother me.

There are tons of words like that in the English language. Like television. Automobile. Dysfunction. Hexadecimal. Neuroscience. Sociology. Many many words are hybrid words (the technical term).

I've never understood why "polyamory" bothers people, but they don't insist on calling "TV" or "erectile dysfunction" something different.
04/21/2012
Contributor: ViVix ViVix
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
I didn't know, but it doesn't bother me either.
04/22/2012
Contributor: SubmissiveFeminist SubmissiveFeminist
It does bother me that they're made of different roots. I just wonder how that came to be!
07/08/2012
Contributor: Mistress Dragon Mistress Dragon
I think someone took time and thought this trew and found that the different roots did not matter as long as it ment "many loves".
07/09/2012
Contributor: Gone (LD29) Gone (LD29)
It doesn't bother me. I do find it interesting, though.
07/09/2012
Contributor: travelnurse travelnurse
Very interesting
07/09/2012
Contributor: pirkit pirkit
I guessed that was what it meant. THat's interesting.
07/12/2012
Contributor: oohlookasquirrel oohlookasquirrel
I've got degrees in Latin and Greek and I am totally cool with the term polyamory. There are far more offensive misuses of language for me to get annoyed with. Polyamory sounds good in my ears.

Words that mix Latin and Greek are not uncommon. Examples: neonatal, sociology, television, homosexuality, heterosexuality, automobile, dysfunction, electrocution, etc. If these words don't bother you, then I wouldn't get annoyed with polyamory either!
link
link

The words "polyeros" and "multusamory," however, make me want to set fires and throw bricks, because they don't show an understanding of the original words and how to properly transition them into English words. Since Eros is a noun and the Greek god of "erotic" love, Polyeros sounds like he might be the Greek god of loving multiple people in a sexual way. Which is awesome, but not a good term for what we call "polyamory" in my opinion.

The problem with Greek words for love is that there are a number of them, each referring to a different kind of love. Using a word related to "eros" would imply that polyamory is "all about the sex," which the polyamorous among us would tell you is not true. The other Greek options, "agape" or "philia," are traditionally not very linked with sex, which is unfortunate because polyamory certainly does have a lot to do with sex. If I had to make the word "polyamory" entirely Greek, I'd go with "polyphilia" as the noun, and "polyphile" or "polyphiliac" as the words used to describe a polyamorous person. Although the original Greek word "philia" didn't have a ton to do with sex, it has been used in English for sexual terms (hemophilia, necrophilia, pyrophilia, etc.). Of course, polyphilia sounds like a weird fetish that might get you arrested.

"Multusamory" is bad word-making for reasons I won't go into in this forum (ask if you're interested). I'd go with multamory, multamorous, etc. or pluramory and pluramorous. I like pluramory better.

Obviously nobody is going to change the term polyamory, and I'm happy with that because the alternatives leave something to be desired. But, there's the Classical Language Geek take on it.
07/26/2012
Contributor: SmutGeek SmutGeek
I already knew and i have a background in latin and greek (was going to teach it until I regained my sanity lol)
It doesn't bother me at all. Polyamory is an "english" word and like most other english words its an evolved and mixed up one. Just part of a modern language that takes roots form multiple backgrounds (Germanic, Arabic, Latin, Greek, etc).
07/29/2012
Contributor: klyte klyte
It doesn't bug me but it's interesting to know.
07/29/2012
Contributor: hyacinthgirl hyacinthgirl
I knew the background of the word, since I majored in English and studied a lot of roots of words and such.

It is suitable for some, though it seems there needs to be a different word for people who love only one partner, but have sex with more than one. Though that would probably just make things needlessly complicated and confusing.
09/24/2012
Contributor: damnbul12 damnbul12
I already knew.
09/24/2012
Contributor: Stinkytofu10 Stinkytofu10
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
I already knew.
09/24/2012
Contributor: richsam richsam
Quote:
Originally posted by Mia Fey
I think open relationships are awesome. Granted they work for some people and not other is understandable, but I would definitely consider doing in the future with a partner who was comfortable with the idea. There has been something bothering me ... more
i knew
09/26/2012
Contributor: MDuffy MDuffy
interesting poll/ discussion
03/25/2013
Contributor: Kirsten A Kirsten A
link
04/08/2013