In Russian, there are often words that have several meanings. In philology, such words are called homonyms.
Greek coins
In ancient Greece, a mite is a small bargaining chip. In ancient Greek, "leptos" means "small, small". That is, we can conclude that the mite was the lightest and smallest coin in the Greek monetary system. The coin came into circulation after the reign of Alexander the Great. If we talk about the face value of the coin, then the mite is:
- 1/7 part of halkunt;
- 1/2 codrant;
- 1/56 obola.
Lepta - a coin that was used in modern Greece until 2002, until the country introduced the euro. We can say that in Hellas of the XX-XXI centuries these coins had the same meaning as our pennies. For example, 1 drachma was equal to 100 leptas. Used as a bargaining chip from 1827 to 2002.
Rivers in the Komi Republic
There is another meaning of the word "mite". There are two rivers with this name in the Komi Republic. One of them is a tributary of the larger Northern Mylva River. The length of the water artery is 37 kilometers. Refers to the Pechora river basin.
Secondthe river with the same name flows into the Timsher. Geographically, this water artery is located near Syktyvkar. The length of the river is only 15 kilometers. The originality of this body of water lies in the fact that streams with such a relatively short length rarely have names.
Other meanings of the term
This word can safely be called ambiguous. Many of you have probably heard the expression "do your bit". The essence of this phrase can be interpreted both in a positive and in a negative sense. For example, a group of people has planned some common business. Everyone has to do a certain amount of work. People completed the tasks assigned to them, and the overall result was obtained. In this case, they say that everyone has contributed to the success of the enterprise. In a negative sense, it can be interpreted as follows. Some people are very sick. He believes that many people created problems in his life. In the thoughts of people in this state, the phrase often slips that everyone has contributed to what is now with the person.
Also, the term "mite" is a certain alms, almsgiving. Nobility is a trait that is not very characteristic of modern people, but nevertheless, many today are engaged in charity. In this case, it is worth talking about collecting serious sums of money that patients need for treatment and complex operations. In such cases, fundraising through charitable foundations is often announced. Organizations provide information about those in need of serious financial support to the media. After thateveryone can transfer money to the specified bank account. When the necessary amount is collected, the patient undergoes an operation. After the successful completion of treatment, everyone can say that they have contributed to the process of a person's recovery.
In addition to the above interpretations, the meaning of the word "mite" also applies to marital relations. In ancient Russia, a woman who lost her husband (a widow) was called a mite. It meant that the family remained incomplete, because its basis is a man. Lepta is the remainder of the full surname.
It's so interesting that one short word can have several different meanings.
