δυνατός

Forms

δῠνᾰτός (dunatós) m (feminine δῠνᾰτή, neuter δῠνᾰτόν); first/second declension^[1] Also of two terminations in Pindar.^[2][3] Cretan νυνατός (nunatós) (Gortyn, 5th century BC), Boeotian διουνατός (diounatós) (Chaeronea), Aeolic δύνατος (dúnatos).^[2]

Etymology

It is a verbal adjective formed from Ancient Greek δύναμαι (dúnamai, “to be able”) + -τός (-tós).^[1][4][5]

The origin of δύναμαι (dúnamai) is uncertain.^[5][6] Beekes and Chantraine analyse it as a present with a nasal infix that spread to the whole conjugation and to δύναμις (dúnamis); the Cretan νύναμαι (núnamai) is the same word, its /n/ probably by assimilation.^[6][7] The LIV reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to join”) and compares Tocharian B tsuwa (“joined”).^[6] The unextended stem has also been compared with δήν (dḗn) and δηρός (dērós), words of duration, but both Beekes and Chantraine find no convincing link in meaning.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest uses are impersonal: Sappho has “it cannot be”, and Theognis “for this is not possible”.^[3][4][2] Of persons, “able (to do something)”, it is found in Theognis and Pindar, “mighty to loose”.^[8][3][9]

Semantic evolution

In classical prose it means strong in body or mind, able-bodied, and of ships, fit for service; of persons and states it means powerful and influential, and οἱ δυνατοί (hoi dunatoí) are the leading men.^[3][8] The neuter forms many phrases, κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν (katà tò dunatón) “as far as possible” and ὡς δυνατόν (hōs dunatón) with a superlative, “as … as possible”.^[3][2] Aristotle uses it for what is potential, as against what is actual.^[3] The Geoponica speak of land as productive.^[3]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament God is “the Mighty One”, and “all things are possible” for him.^[10][2] Coptic borrowed the word as Coptic ⲇⲩⲛⲁⲧⲟⲥ (dunatos).^[11]

Medieval Greek kept the word, and its medieval form and sense survive in Cretan.^[12] In Modern Greek δυνατός (dynatós) means strong, able and also loud or intense (a strong pain, a loud noise); some senses are learned revivals of ancient ones, and the noun δυνατότητα (dynatótita, “possibility”) was coined in 1876.^[13][4]

Timeline

• 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses the neuter for “possible”.^[3][4]
• 6th century BC – Theognis writes that something is “not possible”.^[2]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it with an infinitive, “able to”.^[3][8]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides use it of powerful men and states.^[3][8]
• 5th century BC – A Gortyn inscription has the Cretan form νυνατός (nunatós).^[2]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for the potential.^[3]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of Luke calls God “the Mighty One”.^[10]
• About AD 325 – The Coptic borrowing appears in a dated Sahidic manuscript.^[11]
• 1876 – Modern Greek coins δυνατότητα (dynatótita) “possibility”.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Strong, mighty in body or mind; able-bodied; of ships, fit for service.^[3][8]
2. Able, capable (with an infinitive: able to do something).^[3][8]
3. Powerful, influential; οἱ δυνατοί (hoi dunatoí), the men of rank and power.^[3][8]
4. (of things) Possible, practicable; impersonal δυνατόν ἐστι (dunatón esti), it is possible.^[3][8][2]
5. (philosophy) Potential.^[3]
6. (of land) Productive.^[3]
7. (Septuagint, New Testament) Of God, ὁ δυνατός (ho dunatós), the Mighty One.^[10]

Word family

• ἀδύνατος (adúnatos)
• δυνατέω (dunatéō)
• δυνατεύω (dunateúō)

Related words

• δύναμαι (dúnamai)
• δύναμις (dúnamis)
• δυνάστης (dunástēs)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Βασικό Λεξικό της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής, Portal for the Greek Language, https://www.greek-language.gr
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b 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
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
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. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
12. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
13. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki