Zizanias

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An unnecessary quarrel or dispute that causes discord among parties
2. a cause of strife that disrupts harmony and creates tension in interactions
3. a contentious issue or topic that leads to arguments or conflicts between individuals or groups

Etymology: "Zizanias" is the plural of "zizania," which comes from the Latin "zizania," meaning cockle or tares, a weed that grows among wheat. The Latin word was itself borrowed from Greek, where "zizanion" named the same troublesome plant. The weed was notorious because its seeds look very like wheat grains, so it could only be told apart once the plants matured, and the image of tares sown among the wheat is the one that gives the modern sense its bite. The word is most familiar from the parable in the Gospel of Matthew, in which an enemy sows tares among a farmer's wheat, and the servants ask whether to pull them out. The Latin Vulgate Bible rendered the Greek with "zizania," so the plant entered religious and learned usage in Latin long before it became a figure for discord. Its modern English meaning, a contentious issue that sets people against one another, grows naturally from that picture of a hidden weed spoiling a crop.