καθίστημι

Forms

κᾰθῐ́στημῐ (kathístēmi) ^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek κατα- (kata-, “down”) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to make stand, set up”).^[1][2] The simple verb belongs to the root Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand, set”); its transitive reduplicated present is a formation limited to Greek, beside the thematic presents of other branches such as Latin sistō.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it means “to set down”, of a mixing bowl (Il. 9.202), and in the Odyssey “to bring to land”, of a ship (Od. 12.185), and “to bring down to a place”, of a person (Od. 13.274).^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Classical Greek used the transitive forms for placing and stationing people and things, setting up towers and trophies, bringing someone before a ruler or magistrate, appointing someone to an office, and establishing laws, rites and constitutions.^[4][5] With εἰς it meant “to bring into a state”, such as despair or necessity, and with a double accusative “to make, render”.^[4]

The intransitive forms (the aorist κατέστην (katéstēn), the perfect καθέστηκα (kathéstēka)) and the middle meant “to take one's stand” and “to stand forth” to speak, “to settle” (of colonists), “to come into” battle or a condition such as panic or danger, and “to be established” (of an oracle, a garrison, a form of government).^[5] Later Greek made a new present, καθιστάνω (kathistánō), used by Polybius and in the New Testament.^[5] Modern Greek καθιστώ (kathistó), “to make someone or something become”, is a learned word, from the Hellenistic present καθιστῶ.^[6][2]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of setting down a mixing bowl, the Odyssey of bringing a ship to land.^[4][5]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony uses the aorist passive of gods taking their stand against the Titans.^[5][7]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of appointing a ruler.^[4]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it of establishing laws and rites, and Thucydides of bringing people into despair.^[4]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of establishing a constitution or a democracy.^[4]
• 4th century BC – Hyperides has the transitive perfect καθέστακα (kathéstaka).^[4][5]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses the new present καθιστάνω.^[5]
• Modern Greek – It survives as the learned καθιστώ (kathistó).^[6][2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To set down, place; to bring a ship to land, bring it to a standstill.^[4][5]
2. To bring or take someone to a place; to bring before a ruler or magistrate.^[4][5]
3. To station or array soldiers and guards; to set up towers or a trophy.^[4][5]
4. To appoint someone to an office.^[4]
5. To establish laws, rites or a constitution.^[4]
6. To bring into a state; with a double accusative, to make, render.^[4]
7. (intransitive and middle) To take up a position, stand; to stand forth to speak.^[5]
8. (intransitive and middle) Of troops or colonists, to establish oneself; to come into battle or war.^[5]
9. (intransitive and middle) To come into a condition, fall into panic or danger; in the perfect, to be in a state.^[5]
10. (intransitive and middle) Of institutions, to be established, set up.^[5]

Word family

• ἀκατάστατος (akatástatos)
• ἀντικαθίστημι (antikathístēmi)
• ἀποκαθίστημι (apokathístēmi)
• δυσκατάστατος (duskatástatos)
• ἐγκαθίστημι (enkathístēmi)
• ἐπικαθίστημι (epikathístēmi)
• νεοκατάστατος (neokatástatos)
• παρακαθίστημι (parakathístēmi)
• προκαθίστημι (prokathístēmi)
• προσκαθίστημι (proskathístēmi)
• συγκαθίστημι (sunkathístēmi)

Related words

• κατάστασις (katástasis)
• καταστάτης (katastátēs)
• καταστατικός (katastatikós)
• κατάστημα (katástēma)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
3. ^ 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 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux