ζῷον

Forms

ζῷον (zōîon) n (genitive ζῴου); second declension^[1] Older ζώϊον in Semonides, contracted to Attic ζῷον; the iota is also written in inscriptions.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a noun with the diminutive suffix -ιον (-ion) from Ancient Greek ζωός (zōós, “alive”), through its contracted form ζώς (zṓs), and the older form is ζώϊον (zṓïon).^[4][1][2] ζωός belongs with ζώω (zṓō, “to live”) and ζωή (zōḗ, “life”) to Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”), the root also of βίος (bíos).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is post-Homeric: according to LSJ no generic word for “animal” is found before the middle of the 5th century BC, apart from ζώϊον in Semonides, where a creeping thing is called the worst of living creatures.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Herodotus and Attic writers it means any living being, men included: Plato says that whatever shares in life may be called a ζῷον, and contrasts ζῷα with plants.^[2][3] It is used with contempt of beggars in Plato's Laws.^[2][3] From Herodotus on it also means a painted or carved figure, of any subject and not only of animals, and Manetho uses it for a sign of the zodiac.^[2][3]

In the New Testament ζῷον is an animal as distinct from man, and also one of the four living beings around God's throne in Revelation.^[7] Medieval Greek kept both senses, “animal” and “painted figure”, with forms such as ζο and οζό.^[8] Modern Greek ζώο (zóo) means “animal”.^[9] English zoo- and zoon come from it.^[10]

Timeline

• 7th–6th century BC – Semonides uses ζώϊον for a living creature.^[2][3][11]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of bees and of figures woven or painted.^[2][3][11]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato defines it as whatever shares in life.^[2][3][11]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it of animals and of the living beings in Revelation.^[7]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use ζώον (zóon) for an animal and a picture.^[8]
• 1864 – English zoon is first recorded, in Herbert Spencer.^[10]
• Modern Greek – ζώο (zóo) means “animal”.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A living being, animal, including humans.^[2][3]
2. (contemptuous) A creature, of a person.^[2][3]
3. (art) A painted or carved figure, image.^[2][3]
4. (astrology) A sign of the zodiac.^[2]
5. (New Testament) A living being around God's throne.^[7]

Word family

• ζῳδιακός (zōidiakós)
• ζῴδιον (zōídion)
• ζωγράφος (zōgráphos)

Related words

• βίος (bíos)
• ζῶ (zô)
• ζωή (zōḗ)
• ζώω (zṓō)
• English zoo-

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b 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. ^ 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
6. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge