Was my mother unknowingly referencing a 4th century argument?
September 27, 2009 6:40 PM Subscribe
Where did the phrase "I don't give one iota!" come from?
Growing up I heard my mother say this all the time and thought nothing of it.
But yesterday I was reading about the early church and arguments about the nature of divinity when it hit me - the difference between homoousion and homoiousion is one iota.
Is this where it comes from, or is there another explanation?
I googled it, but there is a lot out there - one page said it had to do with iota being the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, but that does not seem right.
So... is this some Nicene leftover we still use? It would seem appropriate - to not give an iota would make you oblivious to one of the biggest arguments of all time.
Like I wrote, I could find tons of uses on google, but no answer.
Growing up I heard my mother say this all the time and thought nothing of it.
But yesterday I was reading about the early church and arguments about the nature of divinity when it hit me - the difference between homoousion and homoiousion is one iota.
Is this where it comes from, or is there another explanation?
I googled it, but there is a lot out there - one page said it had to do with iota being the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, but that does not seem right.
So... is this some Nicene leftover we still use? It would seem appropriate - to not give an iota would make you oblivious to one of the biggest arguments of all time.
Like I wrote, I could find tons of uses on google, but no answer.
Best answer: Its most prominent occurrence is in the introduction to the Antithesis of the Law in the Gospel of Matthew (5:18): "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (NKJV). The quotation uses them as an example of extremely minor details. The phrase "jot and tittle" indicates that every small detail has received attention.
In the Greek original translated as English "jot and tittle" is found iota and keraia.[1] Iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (ι), and was used as a small diacritic below other vowels (the hypogegrammeni) in ancient Greek texts.
posted by zamboni at 7:01 PM on September 27, 2009 [2 favorites]
In the Greek original translated as English "jot and tittle" is found iota and keraia.[1] Iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet (ι), and was used as a small diacritic below other vowels (the hypogegrammeni) in ancient Greek texts.
posted by zamboni at 7:01 PM on September 27, 2009 [2 favorites]
I came to say that "jot" and "iota" are the same word, but Zamboni pretty much did that, sorta.
Related.
posted by rokusan at 7:10 PM on September 27, 2009
Related.
posted by rokusan at 7:10 PM on September 27, 2009
OED entry for iota, 2. fig. (after Matt. v. 18; see JOT): The least, or a very small, particle or quantity; an atom. (Mostly with negative expressed or implied.)
posted by woodway at 7:15 PM on September 27, 2009
posted by woodway at 7:15 PM on September 27, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks, guys! Rokusan also answered another unrelated question I had about the word iotified.
Thanks again!
posted by Tchad at 7:20 PM on September 27, 2009
Thanks again!
posted by Tchad at 7:20 PM on September 27, 2009
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posted by winston at 6:51 PM on September 27, 2009