εἰρήνη

Forms

εἰρήνη (eirḗnē) f (genitive εἰρήνης); first declension^[1] Doric, Boeotian and Arcadian ἰράνα (irána), Cretan ἰρήνα (irḗna), Thessalian ἰρείνα (ireína), Delphian εἰρήνα (eirḗna).^[2][3]

Etymology

It has no etymology.^[4][3] Its many dialect forms cannot all be traced to one original by sound laws, so they are taken to be loans adapted imperfectly to each dialect, and Beekes and Frisk consider the word Pre-Greek,^[4][3] and Frisk points to the ending, as in Ἀθήνη (Athḗnē).^[4][3][1] Wackernagel hesitantly suggested an original open /iː/ in the first syllable, written ⟨ε⟩ and then ⟨ει⟩ in Attic, whose spelling then prevailed.^[4][3][2] Chantraine likewise says that the lack of a satisfying etymology has led to the view that the word is a borrowing, and the DGE suggests a loan for a concept the Indo-Europeans did not share.^[2][5] Older links with εἴρω (eírō) “to fasten together” or “to speak” are not accepted.^[1][3]

Ancient writers derived it from εἴρω: peace was the time when people could talk freely, or what binds them together.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it is peace as a lasting state, a time of peace, as opposed to war.^[4][2][7]

Semantic evolution

Chantraine notes that it was at first not a legal or diplomatic term but the state of peace, joined with wealth and good cheer, while making a peace agreement was φιλότης (philótēs) in Homer.^[2] In classical prose it is peace between states, as opposed to πόλεμος (pólemos), and also a peace treaty.^[7][4] “To make peace” is a common phrase in Thucydides, Aristophanes and the orators.^[7][4][8] Euripides and Plato also use it of concord within a community and of an individual's tranquillity.^[7] Hesiod made Peace a goddess, daughter of Zeus and Themis.^[4][7]

In the Septuagint it takes on the sense of the Hebrew greeting of peace, a wish of well-being, and in the New Testament it is the peace one invokes on a person and the peace that comes from God.^[4][9][7] Medieval Greek kept it,^[10] and Modern Greek ειρήνη (eiríni) means peace between states and peace of mind.^[11] The English name Irene comes from it through Latin and French.^[12]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for a time of peace.^[4][13]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony names Peace as a daughter of Zeus and Themis.^[4][13]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses the phrase “to make peace”.^[7][5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of the tranquillity of the individual.^[7][5]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it in greetings and for the peace of God.^[9][7]
• Modern Greek – It survives as Modern Greek ειρήνη (eiríni).^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. Peace, a time of peace, as opposed to war.^[7][14]
2. A peace treaty.^[4]
3. Peacefulness, concord within a community; an individual's tranquillity.^[7]
4. (personified) Eirene, the goddess Peace, daughter of Zeus and Themis.^[7][4]
5. (Septuagint, New Testament) Peace invoked in a greeting, well-being.^[7][9]

Word family

• εἰρηνικός (eirēnikós)
• εἰρηναῖος (eirēnaîos)
• εἰρηνεύω (eirēneúō)

Related words

• English Irene

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
5. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
11. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
12. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
13. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
14. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press