This paper aims at demonstrating to what extent historical research can provide a wider vision of the translating phenomenon and, more specifically, aspire to interpret the contradiction that exists between the etymology of the Modern Greek word "μεταφράζω" that designates the act of translating, and its current conceptualization, as it manifests in contemporary dictionaries. After briefly overviewing the position that translation holds in the Greek-speaking field, the author sets out to explain the reasons for the change in the conception of the translating phenomenon which is no longer considered in terms of "transformation", "variation", "metamorphosis" and "reviviscence", but as a simple transfer.