Etymologically
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θεῖος

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θεῖος1 divine

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /tʰêː.os/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈθi.os/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈθi.os/[1]

Forms

θεῖος (theîos) m (feminine θείᾱ, neuter θεῖον); first/second declension[1]

Etymology

The adjective “divine” is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *tʰḗhyos,[1] formed from θεός (theós, “god”) with the adjectival suffix -ιος (-ios), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s-yo-.[1][2] Beekes lists it among the derivatives of that noun, which he connects with Armenian “gods” and Latin fēriae (“festive days”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, of what comes from or belongs to the gods: a divine race, a divine voice, a dream sent by Zeus; and of what is sacred to them, such as the games and the dancing floor.[3][4] Homer also calls heroes and kings “godlike”, and excellent things, such as wine or the sea, “divine”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Herodotus and Attic the neuter τὸ θεῖον means “the divinity”, the divine power, and the plural τὰ θεῖα “the acts of the gods” and “matters of religion”.[3] Plato uses θεῖος ἀνήρ of an inspired or excellent man, and Aristotle calls the heavenly bodies “the visible divine things”.[3] The Laconians said σεῖος for it.[3]

Under the Roman Empire it rendered Latin dīvīnus and Latin dīvus: “imperial” (imperial decrees, the oath by the emperor) and “deified”, of dead emperors.[3] The New Testament uses it of the divine nature and power.[5] Medieval Greek kept the adjective, and Modern Greek θείος (thíos) “divine, of God” is a learned continuation of it.[6][7]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad and Odyssey use it for what comes from the gods and what is sacred to them.[3][4]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the neuter τὸ θεῖον for the divinity.[3][8]
  • 4th century BC – Aristotle calls the heavenly bodies divine things.[3][8]
  • Around AD 200 – Papyri use it for “imperial”, translating Latin dīvīnus.[3]
  • Modern Greek – Modern Greek θείος (thíos) means divine, of God (learned).[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or from the gods, divine.[3][4]
  2. Belonging or sacred to a god, holy.[3][4]
  3. More than human, godlike, of heroes and inspired men.[3]
  4. Of things, excellent, marvellous.[3]
  5. (Roman period) Imperial, of the emperor; of a dead emperor, deified.[3]
  6. (substantive) τὸ θεῖον, the Divinity, divine power; τὰ θεῖα, the acts of the gods, matters of religion.[3]

Word family

  • θειότης (theiótēs)
  • πάνθειος (pántheios)

θεῖος2 uncle

Forms

θεῖος (theîos) m (genitive θείου); second declension[1]

Etymology

The noun “uncle” is probably a nursery word, from a babbling syllable *θη (*thē) extended with the suffix -ειος (-eios).[2][9] Chantraine calls it a familiar term related in some way to the reduplicated τήθη (tḗthē, “grandmother”) and τηθίς (tēthís, “aunt”).[10][1] It is unrelated to the adjective θεῖος1 (theîos, “divine”).[2][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is Attic, first in Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris and Aristophanes' Clouds, for a father's or mother's brother.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Chantraine notes that it does not belong to the old series of Indo-European kinship terms.[10] The orators distinguish an uncle on the mother's side and on the father's.[3] Late Greek formed θεία “aunt” (in the papyri), replacing τηθίς, and πρόθειος “great-uncle”, on the model of Latin proavus.[10][9]

The word passed into Italian as zio (“uncle”).[2][9] Medieval Greek kept it, and Modern Greek has the learned θείος (thíos) and the popular θειος (thios), pronounced with one syllable less, with the feminine θεια; the popular form is also used to address an older man who is no relative.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 5th century BC – Euripides and Aristophanes use it for a father's or mother's brother.[3][8]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Isaeus distinguishes the uncle on the mother's side.[3][8]
  • Late antiquity – The papyri have the feminine θεία “aunt”.[10][9]
  • Modern Greek – Modern Greek θείος (thíos) and popular θειος (thios) mean “uncle”.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A father's or mother's brother, an uncle.[3][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 i j k l m n o p q r s t u Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  7. ^ a b c d Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  8. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
  9. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  10. ^ a b c d e 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