Technically speaking, the Germans really borrowed Prost (or more accurately, Prosit) from the Romans, since the word is a conjugated form of the verb prodesse, which means "to be useful," or "to agree with." Prosit is the verb's subjunctive mood and literally means "May it agree with you" or "May it be useful," which seems rather appropriate when talking about, well, a toast. So when you're out and about celebrating the New Year on Wednesday, why not impress your friends with a hearty "Prosit Neujahr," or "Happy New Year!" We hope it will be a great one for you!

The site’s name, Demotix, is derived from the word ‘demotic‘, meaning ‘of the people’, a description coined by the Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BC to describe the form of writing used and most easily understood by the man in the Alexandrian street in 196 BC.