APOLOGIA: a defense especially of one's opinions, position, or actions.
As you might expect, "apologia" is a close relative of "apology." Both words derive from Late Latin: "apologia" came to English as a direct borrowing, while "apology" traveled through Middle French. The Latin apologia derives from a combination of the Greek prefix apo -, meaing "away from," and the word logia, from the Greek logos, meaning "speech." In their earliest English uses, "apologia" and "apology" meant basically the same thing: a formal defense of justification of one's actions or opinions. Nowdays, however, the two are more distinct. The modern "apology" generally involves an admission of wrongdoing and an expression of regret for past actions, while an "apologia" typically focuses on explaining, justifying, or making clear the grounds for some course of action, belief, or position.
No comments:
Post a Comment