δίκτυον

Pronunciation

• 5th-century BC Attic: /dík.ty.on/^[1]
• 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈðik.ty.on/^[1]
• 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈðik.ty.on/^[1]

Forms

δίκτυον (díktuon) n (genitive δικτύου); second declension^[1] Mycenaean Greek de-ku-tu-wo-ko ‘net-maker’, at Pylos.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because the Mycenaean compound Mycenaean Greek de-ku-tu-wo-ko ‘net-maker’ has -e- where later Greek has -ι-, a variation typical of Pre-Greek words.^[2][5][1] It was usually derived instead from an older u-stem action noun of δικεῖν (dikeîn, “to throw”), with the thematic δίκτυον made from the plural δίκτυα (díktua); δίκτυ (díktu) itself is found only in the Etymologicum Magnum.^[2][4][6] The DGE explains the Mycenaean vowel within that derivation, as an old *δεικτυς (*deiktus).^[4]

In his Pre-Greek lexicon Beekes thinks it probably related to that verb and δίσκος (dískos) anyway.^[5] A comparison with Hittite ekt- (“hunting net”) is implausible because it leaves the initial δ- unexplained.^[2]

Ancient grammarians derived it from the verb ‘to throw’, a scholiast on Oppian from a verb ‘to wound’ and ἰχθύς (ikhthū́s, “fish”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Mycenaean tablets of Pylos have the compound Mycenaean Greek de-ku-tu-wo-ko, a net-maker.^[3][2] The word itself appears in the Odyssey as a fishing net with many meshes, in which fish are drawn out of the sea.^[6][8]

Semantic evolution

In the 5th century BC it is also a hunting net, which Xenophon describes as larger than the ἄρκυς (árkus), and a net for birds.^[6][9] Aeschylus uses it figuratively for the net of ruin and of Hades, and Ibycus for the net of Aphrodite.^[6][9] In Aristophanes it is a netted bag, and Delian inscriptions use it for lattice-work.^[9][6] In the Gospels it is always a fishing net.^[8]

Medieval Greek changed /kt/ to /xt/ and shortened it to Modern Greek δίχτυ (díchty), the ordinary Modern Greek word for a net.^[10] The learned Modern Greek δίκτυο (díktyo) means a network (of roads, railways or computers), a sense modelled on French réseau and English net.^[10]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – The Pylos tablets record the compound Mycenaean Greek de-ku-tu-wo-ko ‘net-maker’.^[3][2]
• Homer – The Odyssey uses it for a fishing net.^[6][11]
• 6th century BC – Ibycus speaks of the nets of Aphrodite.^[9][4]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus speaks of the net of ruin.^[6][4]
• 3rd century BC – Inscriptions from Delos use it for lattice-work.^[6]
• 1st century AD – The Gospels use it for fishing nets.^[8]
• Modern Greek – The vernacular Modern Greek δίχτυ (díchty) means a net and the learned Modern Greek δίκτυο (díktyo) a network.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A net, especially a fishing net.^[6][9][8]
2. A hunting net or a net for catching birds.^[6][9]
3. (figurative) A net of ruin, death or love.^[6][9]
4. A netted bag for fruit and vegetables.^[9]
5. Lattice-work.^[6]
6. The bottom of a sieve.^[6][12]

Related words

• δικεῖν (dikeîn)
• δίσκος (dískos)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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
3. ^ a b c Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
4. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
8. ^ a b c d 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
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
10. ^ a b c 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
12. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)