“Crisis, -is” (Latin, feminine)

WE DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILSPORTS!

This article has absolutely nothing to do with the financial aspect of the economic crisis, since it does not deal with stimulus plans, economic aid or financing.

Why?

We are going to think about the Latin term “crisis” but forgetting for the moment about the crisis.

Etymologically speaking, the word “crisis” comes from the Latin lexeme “crisis” which is feminine, just like the German “Krise” and the Spanish “crisis”. The poor English crisis is genderless because there is no gender differentiation in English. “Crisis” belongs to the -i declension and forms the genitive plural with –ium: “crisium”. An unusual declension that seems to forecast the word’s current bad reputation.

Neither Shakespeare, nor Cervantes, the most outstanding writers of English and Spanish Literature, used the word “crisis” in any of their works. That is what the Spanish Royal Academy and the British National Corpus say. Not even Goethe used it, though Germans are famous for their pessimism. Goethe on the other hand, sublimated crisis by creating a literary legend: Faust. Try entering the words “Goethe”, “Faust” and “Crisis” in an Internet search engine and look at the results you get.

A possible solution for the crisis cannot be purely economic. The crisis, as a rite of passage, challenges us to achieve a sustainable and calm maturity that can rediscover the gift of existence in the here and now. If in our rite of passage we manage to advance toward a healthier, wiser and more ecologically aware society and toward a world that is richer in meaning, we will have lived through a good crisis.

Begonya Pelegrin
Manager,
ADMINEX Spain