θεωρέω

Forms

θεωρέω (theōréō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is a denominative verb from Ancient Greek θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator; envoy to a festival or an oracle”), with the suffix -έω (-éō).^[1][2][3] Beekes explains the noun as “one who watches a show”, from θέα (théa, “sight, spectacle”) and a second element from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to observe”), contracted through quantitative metathesis.^[4] He and Chantraine reject a link with θεός (theós).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is in Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, where someone has come to look upon another's misfortunes.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

Its original sense was to be a θεωρός, an envoy sent to consult an oracle or to attend a festival, as in the treaty Thucydides quotes.^[6][2][3] From there it meant to attend games or a festival as a spectator (Herodotus on the Olympic games), to watch a show, and then simply to look at, view or inspect.^[6][2]

Philosophy made it a word of the mind: Plato uses it for contemplating, Aristotle for studying being as being and, without an object, for theorizing.^[6][3] Beekes notes that the senses “theory, theoretical” in the family developed only after Aristotle, from the contemplation of a Form.^[4] In the New Testament it means to watch and to perceive.^[7] Coptic borrowed it, first in a manuscript of about 800.^[8]

Medieval Greek had θεωρώ (theoró) and the popular θωρώ (thoró) for “to see, to watch, to inspect”; both survive, with a Cypriot form φωρώ (foró).^[9] Modern Greek has the learned θεωρώ (theoró), “to consider, to regard as”, with some senses modelled on French.^[10][3]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound uses it for looking on another's misfortunes.^[6][3]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for watching the Olympic games, and Thucydides' treaty for going as an envoy to oracles.^[6][2]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for contemplating with the mind.^[6]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for studying being as being, and for theorizing.^[6]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for watching and for perceiving.^[7]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek has θεωρώ (theoró) and θωρώ (thoró) for “to see, to watch”.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The learned θεωρώ (theoró) means “to consider, to regard as”.^[10][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To be a θεωρός (theōrós): to go as an official envoy to an oracle or a festival.^[6][2]
2. To attend a festival or games as a spectator; to watch a show.^[6][2]
3. To look at, view, observe; to inspect or review troops.^[6][2]
4. To contemplate or consider with the mind.^[6]
5. (philosophy) To theorize, speculate.^[6]
6. To notice, perceive.^[6][7]

Word family

• θεώρημα (theṓrēma)
• θεώρησις (theṓrēsis)
• θεωρητικός (theōrētikós)
• ἀναθεωρέω (anatheōréō)
• ἐπιθεωρέω (epitheōréō)
• παραθεωρέω (paratheōréō)
• συνθεωρέω (suntheōréō)

Related words

• θεωρός (theōrós)
• θεωρία (theōría)
• θέα (théa)
• θεάομαι (theáomai)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ 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
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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
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. ^ Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
9. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki