εἶτα

Forms

εἶτα (eîta) ^[1] Ionic, Messenian and Boeotian εἶτεν (eîten); with crasis κᾆτα (καὶ εἶτα).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

From εἰ (ei), originally a demonstrative stem, and an adverbial element -τα (-ta) or -τεν (-ten), also seen in ἔπειτα (épeita).^[2][5][1] Beekes and Frisk find no direct parallel outside Greek.^[2][5] The DGE takes these endings as the zero grade and full grade of an ending *-tem, and compares Latin tam, Latin item and Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌴 (þande) “while”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

GLAUx and LSJ give Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound as the earliest text: “do not hold out a gain to me and then take it away”.^[6][7][4] The Ionic form εἶτεν is on a 5th-century BC inscription from Miletus.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In tragedy, comedy and Attic prose εἶτα marks the next step in a sequence (“first …, then …”) and, after a participle, an incongruous second act (“and then”, “and yet”).^[7][4] In questions it expresses surprise or indignation, as in Demosthenes' “and so you are not ashamed?”.^[4][7] The Atticist Phrynichus condemned εἶτεν as a barbarism.^[3]

The Septuagint (in Job) and the New Testament use it for “then, next”, often in lists, as in Paul's account of the appearances of the risen Christ.^[8][9][10] It was borrowed as Coptic ⲉⲓⲧⲁ (eita), from about AD 300.^[11] Medieval vernacular Greek still had είτα (íta) “then, afterwards”, and the word survives in Pontic Greek.^[12]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it in the Prometheus Bound.^[6][7][3]
• 5th century BC – An inscription from Miletus has the Ionic form εἶτεν, and Sophocles uses “first …, then …”.^[3][7]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it in sequences of events.^[9][13]
• 2nd century AD – Phrynichus condemns εἶτεν as a barbarism.^[3]
• About AD 300 – The borrowing Coptic ⲉⲓⲧⲁ (eita) appears in texts.^[11]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek has είτα (íta) “then”.^[12]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (of sequence) then, next, afterwards: πρῶτον μὲν … εἶτα “first …, then …”.^[7][4][3]
2. (after a participle, with the main verb) And then, and yet, expressing surprise or incongruity.^[7][4]
3. (of consequence) And so, therefore; in indignant or sarcastic questions, “and then …?”, and in “well, what of it?”.^[7][4][14]

Word family

• ἔπειτα (épeita)
• κᾆτα (kâita)

Related words

• εἰ (ei)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 g h Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
4. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ 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
10. ^ United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
11. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
12. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
13. ^ Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
14. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli