Etymology
- Terra: Latin for 'earth' or 'land'. Related English words include terrestrial and territory.
- Incognita: from Latin cognoscere 'to know, be acquainted with', which is related to English know and Greek γνώσις gnosis 'knowledge'. Related English words include agnostic, cognition, gnosticism.
For more history of the terms, see Terra Australis, and also Etymology at Australia.
Read more about this topic: Terra Incognita
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)