Gymnasium (ancient Greece) the Greek noun γυμνάσιον ("gymnasion"), "gymnastic school", in pl. "bodily exercises" and generally "school" which in turn is derived from the common Greek adjective ("gymnos") meaning "naked", by way of the related verb γυμνάζω ("gymnazo"), whose meaning is "to train naked", "train in gymnastic exercise", generally "to train, to exercise". The verb had this meaning because one undressed for exercise. Historically, the gymnasium was used for exercise, communal bathing, and scholarly and philosophical pursuits. The English noun "gymnast", first recorded in 1594, is formed from the Greek γυμναστής ("gymnastēs"), but in Greek this word means "trainer" not "gymnast". The "palaistra"
Medieval Greek been replaced by subordinate clauses with the particle να. Arabic influences have been assumed as a possible explanation for this phenomenon, as a sentence structure such as "I can that I go" is common in Classical Arabic. Possibly transmitted through Greek, this phenomenon can also be found in the adjacent languages and dialects of the Balkans. Bulgarian and Romanian for example, are in many respects typologically similar to medieval and present day Greek, although genealogically they are not closely related. Besides the particles να and θενά, the negation particle δέν ('not') was derived from the Ancient Greek word oὐδέν ('nothing').