δίς

Forms

δῐ́ς (dís) (cardinal δῠ́ο, ordinal δεύτερος)^[1] As a first member of compounds δι-, rarely δισ- before a vowel and in δισχίλιοι, δισμύριοι.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *dwís, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice”), from the root of δύο (dúo, “two”).^[1][2] It is formed exactly like Sanskrit द्विस् (dvís), Latin bis (Old Latin duis) and Middle High German zwir (“twice”).^[2][3][1] In compounds the form δι- (di-) matches द्वि- (dvi-), bi-, Gothic 𐍄𐍅𐌹- (twi-) and Lithuanian dvi-: δίπους (dípous) is द्विपद् (dvipád-) and bipēs.^[2]

Homer never lengthens a short final vowel before it, so Chantraine allows for a Greek form without /w/ as well; the final -ς originally served to avoid hiatus.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Odyssey has it once, in δὶς τόσσον “twice as much”.^[4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Hesiod and later writers use it of two occasions, “twice”, and with demonstratives (δὶς τόσος) for “twice as much, twice as many”.^[6][4] In multiplication δὶς ἑπτά is “twice seven”, fourteen.^[6] Proverbial phrases include “old men are children twice over” and “it is good to say good things twice and three times”.^[4] In late inscriptions it follows a name to show that a man had the same name as his father.^[4]

Through compounds the prefix δι- reached the European languages, English included.^[1] Modern Greek δις (dis) is a learned form of the adverb; a homonym is a clipping of δισεκατομμύριο “billion”.^[7]

Timeline

• 700s BC – The Odyssey uses δὶς τόσσον “twice as much”.^[4][5]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it of two occasions.^[6][5]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Euripides use it in multiplication, “twice seven”.^[6][8]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato quotes the saying that good things are well said twice and three times.^[4][8]
• Modern Greek – δις (dis) is a learned form of the ancient adverb.^[7]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Twice, on two occasions; doubly, again.^[6][4]
2. (with τόσος, τοσοῦτος) Twice as much, twice as many.^[6]
3. (in multiplication) Twice: δὶς ἑπτά “fourteen”.^[6]

Word family

• δισσός (dissós)
• διττός (dittós)
• δίχα (díkha)
• δίζω (dízō)

Related words

• δύο (dúo)
• διά (diá)
• Latin bis
• English di-

Usage notes

The comic poets record the saying that old men are children twice over.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 d Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge