γεννάω

Forms

γεννᾰ́ω (gennáō) ^[1]

Etymology

The DGE and Wiktionary take it as a denominative verb formed from Ancient Greek γέννα (génna, “birth, descent”) + -άω (-áō), the noun being a poetic word beside γένος (génos, “race, offspring”).^[2][1][3] Wackernagel, followed by Frisk, held the reverse view, that the noun is a back-formation from the verb.^[3] Frisk finds the formation of the verb disputed: it cannot be separated from the presents in -νάω (-náō) such as δαμνάω (damnáō) beside δάμνημι (dámnēmi, “to tame”), but its stem must have been remodelled after the noun, and the double ⟨νν⟩ may be an expressive gemination.^[3]

It serves as the causative of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “to be born, become”).^[4][1] The root is the one of that verb and of the noun, Proto-Indo-European *ǵen(ə)- (“to beget, be born”).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pindar's fifth Pythian ode has the perfect passive participle of men who “sprang” from a place, and Aeschylus' Suppliants uses the active of a mother who gave birth.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

In classical Greek it is said mostly of the father, who begets a child: Sophocles has “the father who begot” and Xenophon calls parents “those who begot you”; it is also said of the mother who bears and of both parents.^[4][8] The passive means “to be born” or “to spring from” a mother or a city.^[8]

Figuratively it means to produce or breed something: Democritus says that forgetting one's own troubles breeds rashness, and Plato speaks of a soul that engenders every kind of virtue, of thoughts and opinions, and of the creator god who produces the world (in the middle).^[4][8] Aristotle uses it of philosophers who make the heaven come into being in their theories, and Philo of numbers that produce a total.^[4]

The Septuagint has it about 250 times, above all in the genealogies that begin in Genesis 4:18, and the New Testament follows that use: the genealogy that opens the Gospel of Matthew repeats its aorist “begot”.^[9][10] Louw and Nida class it under the male role in conception and birth.^[11]

Modern Greek keeps it as γεννώ (gennó), “to give birth”, said of women and of female animals.^[12][6]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses the perfect passive participle of men sprung from a place.^[4][7][2]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of a mother giving birth.^[4][8]
• 5th century BC – Democritus uses it figuratively: forgetting one's own troubles breeds rashness.^[4][2]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses the middle of the creator producing the world, and the active of a soul engendering virtue.^[4][8][2]
• 1st century BC – Diodorus Siculus uses the future middle with a passive sense.^[4][2]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of Matthew opens with a genealogy built on its aorist “begot”.^[10]
• Modern Greek – γεννώ (gennó) means “to give birth”.^[12][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. Of a father, to beget, engender.^[4][8][10]
2. Of a mother, to bear, give birth to.^[4][8]
3. Of both parents, to produce a child; the aorist participle as a noun, οἱ γεννήσαντες, the parents.^[8][4]
4. (passive) To be born; to spring from a mother or a city.^[8]
5. (figurative) To produce, breed (a quality, an idea; a city producing men); of the creator god, to make the world.^[4][8]
6. (middle) To produce from oneself, create.^[4]
7. Of numbers, to produce a total.^[4]

Word family

• ἀναγεννάω (anagennáō)
• γέννημα (génnēma)
• γέννησις (génnēsis)
• γεννήτειρα (gennḗteira)
• γεννητής (gennētḗs)
• γεννητός (gennētós)
• γεννήτωρ (gennḗtōr)
• γεννήτρια (gennḗtria)

Related words

• γέννα (génna)
• γένος (génos)
• γίγνομαι (gígnomai)
• γενναῖος (gennaîos)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
3. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
6. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
10. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
11. ^ United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki