[Buddha-l] Mere mereness

[Richard Hayes]

On Wednesday 30 August 2006 21:25, Piya Tan wrote:

> The OED (yes the original set) has this etymology of
> mere,

Thanks for that. It confirms what is recorded in several 
American-language dictionaries. 

While you're in a dictionary mood, take a peek at your Greek 
dictionary. I think you'll find Purrhon listed there, which will 
shed some light on why speakers of German and French and Dutch 
refer to the man as Pyrrhon (just as they refer to Plato and 
Platon), and why Italians call him Pirrone. The mystery is why 
anglophones keep dropping the 'n' from the ends of the names of 
Greek thinkerns.

But a greater mystery is why cardiologists keep talking 
about "coronary heart disease." Is that to distinguish it from, 
say, renal heart disease and hepatic heart disease and from 
coronary liver disease and coronary rectal disease?

Merely curious, I remain 
Mere Richard (often confused with Richard Gere)