γνῶσις

Forms

γνῶσῐς (gnôsis) f (genitive γνώσεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃-tis, an action noun of the root *ǵneh₃- (“to recognize, get to know”); by surface analysis it is formed from γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “to know”) with the suffix -σις (-sis).^[2][1] NIL sets beside it Lithuanian pažintìs (“knowledge”) and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌳𐍃 (gakunds, “persuasion”).^[2] The verb matches Latin nōscō, and the root is in Sanskrit ज्ञात (jñātá-, “known”), Old Church Slavonic знати (znati) and Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐌽𐌽 (kann).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a fragment of Heraclitus on “the knowledge of visible things”.^[4][5] Philolaus speaks of nature admitting divine, not human, knowledge.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical prose it is knowledge and understanding: Plato sets it against ignorance, Aristotle calls perception a kind of knowledge, and Thucydides uses it for recognizing a person.^[4][6][5] In the Attic orators it is a legal term, the investigation of a case and the court's or arbitrator's finding.^[4][6] Isocrates and Aeschines use it for acquaintance with someone.^[6]

In the New Testament it is knowledge of God and his ways, and in Paul a higher spiritual knowledge.^[7][4] Christian writers used it for a higher knowledge of spiritual things, and English took gnosis from them, recorded from 1703.^[8] The medieval vernacular kept γνώσις, and Modern Greek γνώση (gnósi) is knowledge, partly a learned word and partly inherited through medieval Greek.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Heraclitus uses it for knowledge of what is visible.^[4][5]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it for recognizing a person.^[6][11]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato contrasts it with ignorance.^[4][5]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it for judicial inquiry.^[4]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for knowledge of God and higher knowledge.^[7][4]
• 1703 – English borrows it as gnosis, “knowledge of spiritual mysteries”.^[8]
• Modern Greek – γνώση (gnósi) means “knowledge”.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Knowledge, understanding; the act of coming to know.^[4][6][5]
2. (plural) Means of acquiring knowledge, the senses.^[6]
3. Recognition, identification of a person.^[6]
4. Acquaintance with a person.^[6][4]
5. (law) Judicial inquiry; the resulting decision or verdict.^[4][6]
6. (New Testament) Knowledge of God; higher, spiritual knowledge.^[7][4]

Related words

• ἀνάγνωσις (anágnōsis)
• ἀπόγνωσις (apógnōsis)
• διάγνωσις (diágnōsis)
• ἐπίγνωσις (epígnōsis)
• κατάγνωσις (katágnōsis)
• μετάγνωσις (metágnōsis)
• παρανάγνωσις (paranágnōsis)
• πρόγνωσις (prógnōsis)
• γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō)
• γνώμη (gnṓmē)
• English gnosis

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux