θεματικός

Forms

θεματικός (thematikós), with short ⟨α⟩ (θεμᾰτικός), feminine θεματική, neuter θεματικόν.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek θέμα (théma, “something laid down”) + -ικός (-ikós), built on the stem of θέμα (théma).^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philodemus, in the 1st century BC, uses it of observations that are arbitrarily fixed or traditional, and has the neuter as a noun in the same sense.^[1]

Semantic evolution

Its senses follow those of θέμα (théma).^[2] A contest with a money prize put up, as opposed to one for a wreath of leaves, was a "thematic" contest, a term in Pollux and in inscriptions of the Roman period,^[1] and Plutarch speaks of a style designed for effect and uses the neuter for a kind of musical mode.^[1][2][4] The grammarians, above all Apollonius Dyscolus, use it of primary, underived words, the "themes" from which other forms are made, and the Etymologicum Magnum calls the elements of a word θεματικά.^[1][2][5] In the Byzantine period it also meant belonging to a theme, a province of the empire.^[6][7]

In Modern Greek, θεματικός (thematikós) continues the grammatical sense, as in the thematic vowel and thematic conjugation, and has also taken the sense relating to a topic from French thématique and German Thematik.^[8][9]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Philodemus uses it of arbitrarily fixed, traditional observations.^[1][10]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it of a style calculated for effect and of a musical mode.^[1][2]
• 2nd century AD – Apollonius Dyscolus uses it of primary, underived words, and Pollux of contests with a money prize.^[1][2][5]
• Byzantine period – It means belonging to a theme, one of the empire's provinces.^[6][7]
• 12th–13th century AD – The Etymologicum Magnum calls the elements of words θεματικά.^[1][10]
• Modern Greek – θεματικός (thematikós) means thematic, in grammar and of topics.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. For which a money prize is put up, of contests, as opposed to those for a wreath.^[1][2]
2. Arbitrarily fixed, traditional.^[1][4]
3. Calculated for effect, of a style.^[1][2]
4. (grammar) primary, not derived, and in the neuter plural as a noun the elements of words.^[1][2]
5. (neuter as noun) A kind of musical mode.^[2]
6. (Byzantine) Belonging to a theme, a province of the empire.^[6]

Related words

• θέμα (théma)

Usage notes

Its opposite in the grammatical sense is ἀθέματος (athématos), and in the sense of contests στεφανίτης (stephanítēs), a contest for a wreath.^[6][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Malhadas, Daisi; Dezotti, Maria Celeste C.; Neves, Maria Helena de Moura, eds. (2006–2010), Dicionário Grego-Português, São Paulo: Ateliê; digital ed. 3 (2022), UNESP Araraquara
5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
7. ^ a b Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
10. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge