θεάομαι

Forms

θεᾰ́ομαι (theáomai) ^[1] Epic and Ionic θηέομαι (thēéomai), Doric θᾱέομαι (thāéomai) and θάομαι (tháomai); future θεάσομαι, aorist ἐθεασάμην, perfect τεθέαμαι.^[2]

Etymology

It is the Attic form of a verb that is Epic and Ionic θηέομαι (thēéomai) and Doric θᾱέομαι (thāéomai), all from a stem ⟨θᾱϝ-⟩, which is also the base of the noun θέα (théa, “sight, spectacle”).^[3][4][2] The verb may be a denominative of that noun, or the noun a back-formation from the verb, as the order of the records suggests to Beekes.^[3][4]

Beekes finds no Indo-European cognates and considers the family Pre-Greek, because of the variation within it, as in θαῦμα (thaûma) and θάμβος (thámbos).^[3] Others compare Sanskrit धी (dhī́) and derive the verb from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyh₂- (“to see, to look”), or from a root *dʰeh₂w-.^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer has the Epic form θηέομαι (thēéomai), used for gazing at something with wonder, as at a great work in the Iliad.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The sense of wonder stayed with the verb: Herodotus and Plato use it for gazing at a sight or a person, and Plato also for contemplating the truth with the mind.^[2][4] Demosthenes uses it for seeing clearly how matters stand, and Xenophon for reviewing an army.^[2]

Its most lasting use was for spectators: “those who watch” were the audience in the theatre, as in Aristophanes, and the derivatives θέατρον (théātron) and θεατής (theātḗs) belong here.^[2][4] In the New Testament it means to look at something closely, often with the sense of being impressed by it, and later Greek also used an aorist passive with passive sense, “to be seen”.^[7][2]

Modern Greek keeps the learned θεώμαι (theóme), “to view, to observe”.^[8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses the Epic form θηέομαι (thēéomai) for gazing at a great work with wonder.^[2][6]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for gazing at a sight, and Aristophanes for the spectators in the theatre.^[2]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for contemplating the truth with the mind.^[2]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it for seeing clearly how matters stand.^[2]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of Mark has the aorist passive in the sense “to be seen”.^[2][7]
• Modern Greek – It survives as the learned θεώμαι (theóme), “to view”.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To gaze at, behold, usually with wonder.^[2][7]
2. To contemplate with the mind.^[2]
3. To see clearly, realize.^[2]
4. To watch as a spectator, especially in the theatre; the participle, the spectators.^[2]
5. To review (an army).^[2]

Word family

• θεατής (theātḗs)
• θεατός (theatós)
• θέατρον (théātron)

Related words

• θέα (théā)
• θεωρός (theōrós)
• θαῦμα (thaûma)

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 n o p q Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
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 Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki