εἰσέρχομαι

Forms

εἰσέρχομαι (eisérkhomai) ^[1] Ionic and poetic ἐσέρχομαι (esérkhomai).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek εἰσ- (eis-, “into”) + ἔρχομαι (érkhomai, “to come, go”).^[1] For the simple verb Beekes gives two proposals: a root Proto-Indo-European *h₁ergʰ-, compared with an Old Irish imperative “go!”, or, with Rix, a present *h₁r̥-sk-e/o-, with Sanskrit and Hittite verbs meaning “to reach”, which he finds quite possible.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it of entering a land or a walled city, usually with the accusative: Φρυγίην εἰσήλυθον (Phrugíēn eisḗluthon, “I went into Phrygia”, Il. 3.184).^[5][3] The Iliad also uses it of a portent that intrudes on a sacrifice, and the Odyssey of a famine that visits a community.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Classical Greek used it with εἰς for going into a house or a city, with παρά or πρός for visiting someone, and figuratively for entering into a treaty, an alliance or a war (Thucydides, Isocrates).^[3][5] Xenophon uses it of youths entering the ephebes, and in Attic law it is used of jurors, litigants and cases coming into court.^[3] The New Testament uses it for entering a place.^[6]

Medieval vernacular Greek kept it, and Modern Greek εισέρχομαι (eisérchomai) is a learned word; its use for incoming mail is a translation of English.^[7][8] The everyday word for “to go in” is μπαίνω (baíno), from ἐμβαίνω (embaínō).^[8][9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of going into a country and inside a city wall.^[5][3]
• 7th century BC – The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite uses the aorist participle.^[10]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it of entering into a treaty or alliance.^[3]
• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses it of youths entering the ephebes, and the Attic orators of parties coming into court.^[3]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for entering a place.^[6]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek still uses the verb.^[7]
• Modern Greek – It survives as the learned εισέρχομαι (eisérchomai).^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To go or come in, enter (a house, city or country).^[5][3][6]
2. To visit someone (with παρά or πρός).^[3]
3. To come to a place, arrive.^[3]
4. To enter into battle, a treaty, an alliance or a war.^[3]
5. Of a portent or a famine, to intrude on, visit.^[3]
6. To enter the ephebes.^[3]
7. (law) Of jurors, litigants or a case, to come into court.^[3][5]

Usage notes

In Attic the future and the imperfect are usually supplied by εἴσειμι (eíseimi).^[5][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ 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 d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
8. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
10. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux