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βαίνω

Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word βαίνω

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
Homer, Iliad
Inherited from
Proto-Hellenic *gʷəňňō
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*gʷem-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /bǎi̯.nɔː/[1]
  • IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈβɛ.no/[1]
  • IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈve.no/[1]

Forms

βαίνω (baínō) [1]

Etymology

The present is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *gʷəňňō, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷm̥yéti, the zero grade of *gʷem- (“to go, come”) with a present suffix *-yé-.[1][2] The /m/ became /n/ before the following /y/.[3] Cognate with Latin veniō (“to come”), Gothic 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (qiman, “to come”), Old English cuman (“to come”) and the aorist Sanskrit अगमन् (ágaman, “they went”).[2][1]

The other tenses, the aorist ἔβην (ébēn), the future βήσομαι (bḗsomai) and the perfect βέβηκα (bébēka), come from a different root, Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₂-, seen also in Sanskrit जिगाति (jigāti, “goes”).[4][2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is common in Homer from the first book of the Iliad (“he went”, 1.34), meaning to step, go, set out, mount a chariot or board a ship.[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Homer and later poetry it covers every kind of going: walking, marching, dancing in rhythm, going away and, euphemistically, dying, as in Aeschylus' Persians.[6][7] The perfect meant to stand or be in a place, and so to be well established, as of a tyranny in Herodotus.[7][6] Geometers used the perfect for a figure standing on a base.[7]

In correct Attic prose the present is almost the only tense used, but the compounds (ἀναβαίνω (anabaínō), ἐκβαίνω (ekbaínō)...) were used in all tenses.[7] Modern Greek βαίνω is a learned word.[8][1]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for going, stepping and mounting.[9][6]
  • 7th century BC – Archilochus uses the perfect for being firmly placed.[7][2]
  • 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses the perfect as a euphemism for having died.[7][2]
  • 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it for marching in rhythm.[7][2]
  • 4th–3rd century BC – Euclid uses the perfect for an angle standing on an arc.[7][2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To step, walk, go on foot.[7][6]
  2. To go, set out, come.[6]
  3. To mount (a chariot or horse), go on board (a ship).[6][7]
  4. To go away, depart;[7] (euphemistic) to die.[7][6]
  5. (perfect) To stand, be in a place; to be well established.[7][6]
  6. Of a male animal: to mount.[6]
  7. (causative future and aorist) To make go, bring; to bring down.[6]

Word family

  • ἀμφιβαίνω (amphibaínō)
  • ἀναβαίνω (anabaínō)
  • ἀντιβαίνω (antibaínō)
  • ἀντιδιαβαίνω (antidiabaínō)
  • ἀποβαίνω (apobaínō)
  • διαβαίνω (diabaínō)
  • εἰσαναβαίνω (eisanabaínō)
  • εἰσβαίνω (eisbaínō)
  • εἰσκαταβαίνω (eiskatabaínō)
  • ἐκβαίνω (ekbaínō)
  • ἐκδιαβαίνω (ekdiabaínō)
  • ἐμβαίνω (embaínō)
  • ἐξαποβαίνω (exapobaínō)
  • ἐπαναβαίνω (epanabaínō)
  • ἀκροβάτης (akrobátēs)
  • βαδίζω (badízō)
  • βάθρον (báthron)
  • βάσις (básis)
  • βάσκω (báskō)
  • -βάτης (-bátēs)
  • βατός (batós)
  • βέβαιος (bébaios)
  • βέβηλος (bébēlos)
  • βηλός (bēlós)
  • Latin veniō
  • English come

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
  3. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
  4. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  9. ^ Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Βαίνω.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%CE%B2%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%BD%CF%89. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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