entry
eris
/ˈɛrɪs/Greek goddess and personification of strife
From Greek eris (strife).
from Greek eris "strife, discord," which is of uncertain origin. Watkins suggests PIE root *ere- (3) "to separate,...
Word Ancestry
from Greek eris "strife, discord," which is of uncertain origin. Watkins suggests PIE root *ere- (3) "to separate,...
At a wedding in Greek myth, Eris arrived without an invitation—and brought a golden apple labeled “for the fairest.” Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite promptly began competing for it, a quarrel that helped set the Trojan War in motion. The Greek noun ἔρις meant “strife” or “discord,” but its deeper origin remains uncertain; one proposed connection links it to a PIE root meaning “to separate” or “adjoin,” though that theory is not secure. The name later became the source of eristic, the art—or habit—of arguing merely to win. Even the apparent connection with Latin eris, “hedgehog,” belongs to a different word, so Eris’s family tree is less tidy than her mythology. Remember her as the goddess who needed only one apple to turn a party into a geopolitical catastrophe.
The Story
At a wedding in Greek myth, Eris arrived without an invitation—and brought a golden apple labeled “for the fairest.” Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite promptly began competing for it, a quarrel that helped set the Trojan War in motion. The Greek noun ἔρις meant “strife” or “discord,” but its deeper origin remains uncertain; one proposed connection links it to a PIE root meaning “to separate” or “adjoin,” though that theory is not secure. The name later became the source of eristic, the art—or habit—of arguing merely to win. Even the apparent connection with Latin eris, “hedgehog,” belongs to a different word, so Eris’s family tree is less tidy than her mythology. Remember her as the goddess who needed only one apple to turn a party into a geopolitical catastrophe.
Kin & Kindred
From 'eris'·strife, discord
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary