δείκνυμι

Forms

δείκνῡμῐ (deíknūmi) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *deiknéumi, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show, point out”), with the present suffix -νυμι (-numi).^[1][2] Apart from the Cretan present δίκνυμι (díknumi) and the noun δίκη (díkē), this nasal present with a secondary full grade ousted all the other ablaut forms of the root in Greek.^[2] Chantraine considers the sigmatic aorist ἔδειξα (édeixa) old, matching the perfect Latin dīxī, while the nasal present belongs to a productive type and must be an innovation.^[3] Ionic had δέκνυμι (déknumi), whose vowel Chantraine and the sources he cites leave unexplained.^[3][4]

Outside Greek the root makes thematic presents: the Latin verb, which means “to say”, Sanskrit दिशति (diśáti, “to show, point out”) and Old High German zīhan (“to accuse”).^[2][3] Wiktionary adds Old English tǣċan (“to show, teach”), the ancestor of English teach.^[1] Beekes, following Kloekhorst, rejects a link with the Hittite verb for “to show”.^[2] A Mycenaean participle Mycenaean Greek de-di-ku-ja on a Knossos tablet may belong here, but it can also be read as a form of διδάσκω (didáskō).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it means to show or display something to others: the Iliad speaks of a sign shown to mortals (13.244), and the word is also used for pointing out a person or a place.^[7][8] The middle, in the perfect and pluperfect, means to greet or welcome someone (Iliad 4.4, 9.224).^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

From showing something to the eyes, classical Greek extended the verb to displaying a quality such as good faith or courage, and then to showing something to the mind: to make clear, explain and prove that something is the case.^[8][4] Pindar and Euripides use it for teaching someone to do something, and in Sophocles, Thucydides and Aristophanes the future can mean “it will become clear”.^[8]

Many of its derivatives became technical words: δεῖγμα (deîgma, “sample”), παράδειγμα (parádeigma, “pattern, example”) and the compound ἀποδείκνυμι (apodeíknumi, “to point out, prove”).^[9][2] Already in Hesiod, Herodotus and the orators the thematic present δεικνύω (deiknúō) appears beside δείκνυμι, as often with verbs in -νυμι.^[3][4] In the Septuagint and the New Testament it is used of showing things to the senses and of explaining or proving.^[10][11]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for showing and pointing out, and the middle for greeting.^[7][4]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod has the thematic present δεικνύω.^[4][3][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for teaching someone to do something.^[8][6]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides and Antiphon use it of showing goodwill and zeal.^[8][9]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the Ionic form δέκνυμι.^[4][3][6]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for making something known by showing it.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To show, make visible, display something to someone.^[8][4]
2. To point out, indicate a person or a place.^[8][7]
3. To show a quality or behaviour; to manifest.^[8]
4. To make clear, explain, prove that something is so.^[8][4]
5. To teach, instruct someone to do something.^[8]
6. In the future, intransitive: to make the point clear; impersonal, “it will be evident”.^[8]
7. (middle, epic) To greet, welcome someone; to drink to someone.^[8][7]

Word family

• ἀναπόδεικτος (anapódeiktos)
• ἀριδείκετος (arideíketos)
• δακτυλοδεικτέω (daktulodeiktéō)
• δεῖγμα (deîgma)
• δειγματίζω (deigmatízō)
• δείκηλον (deíkēlon)
• δεικτικός (deiktikós)
• ἐπίδειγμα (epídeigma)
• παράδειγμα (parádeigma)
• παραδειγματίζω (paradeigmatízō)
• ὑπόδειγμα (hupódeigma)
• ἀποδείκνυμι (apodeíknūmi)
• ἐπιδείκνυμι (epideíknumi)
• δεῖξις (deîxis)

Related words

• δίκη (díkē)
• Latin dīcō
• English paradigm

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 e f 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. ^ Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
6. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Βασικό Λεξικό της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής, Portal for the Greek Language, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b 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. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft