θεωρητικός

Forms

θεωρητῐκός (theōrētikós) m (feminine θεωρητῐκή, neuter θεωρητῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek θεωρέω (theōréō, “to watch, contemplate”) + -τικός (-tikós, “adjective suffix”).^[1] The verb comes from θεωρός (theōrós), properly “one who watches a show”, which Beekes explains as a compound of θέα (théā, “sight”) and the root of ὁράω (horáō, “to see”), Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to observe”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Aristotle, who uses it of a person able to observe something and, above all, of contemplative or speculative knowledge.^[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle opposed theoretical knowledge to practical and productive knowledge, and the “theoretical life” of contemplation to the life of pleasure and the political life.^[4][3] Plutarch used the same contrast of philosophers.^[4][3] The word reached Coptic as a loanword.^[6]

In medieval vernacular Greek it meant “of fine appearance”, after θεωρία “appearance”, and also “spiritual”.^[7] Modern Greek has the medieval sense, now old-fashioned, in θεωρητικός (theoritikós) “imposing in looks”, and in a learned word of the same form the sense “theoretical”, renewed under French théorétique and English theoretic.^[8]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of contemplative knowledge and the contemplative life.^[4][3][9]
• 1st century BC – Philodemus uses it in the sense “able to perceive”.^[4][9]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it of the speculative philosopher.^[4][3][9]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use it for a handsome person and for the spiritual life.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Able to perceive or observe something.^[4][3]
2. Contemplative, speculative, as opposed to practical.^[4][3]
3. (neuter, as a noun) The faculty of contemplation.^[3]

Related words

• θεωρέω (theōréō)
• θεωρία (theōríā)
• θεωρός (theōrós)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
8. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge