καθόλου

Forms

κᾰθόλου (kathólou) ^[1]

Etymology

It is the phrase ⟨καθ’ ὅλου⟩, “on the whole”, written as one word:^[1][2][3] from Ancient Greek κατά (katá) + ὅλος (hólos, “whole”), with the adjective in the genitive.^[1][4][3] Plato writes it apart, as ⟨κατὰ ὅλου⟩.^[2]

ὅλος (hólos) is from Proto-Indo-European *sol(H)-u̯o- (“whole”), cognate with Latin salvus (“sound, safe”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Xenophon's treatise on horsemanship and the Hippocratic writings have it among the earliest texts in the GLAUx corpus.^[6] It is common from the 4th century BC, in Aristotle and in the letter of Philip quoted by Demosthenes, meaning “on the whole, in general”.^[2][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle made it a term of logic: τὸ καθόλου is the general or universal, what is by nature predicated of many things, as opposed to τὸ καθ’ ἕκαστον, the singular, and τὰ καθόλου are the universal truths that poetry, unlike history, expresses.^[2][4][3] Polybius uses it of general history, opposed to particular accounts, and in Roman times οἱ καθόλου λόγοι were the accounts of the central government.^[2]

Already in Polybius it meant “completely”, and in negative phrases “not at all”; the New Testament forbids the apostles to speak “at all” in the name of Jesus.^[2][4][8][3] This negative use prevailed in Medieval Greek^[9][10] and is the ordinary sense of Modern Greek καθόλου (kathólou), “not at all”; the sense “in general” is a learned revival.^[10] From the same phrase came καθολικός (katholikós, “general, universal”).^[1]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses it in his treatise on horsemanship.^[6]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for the general and the universal, opposed to the particular.^[2][4]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for general history, and for “completely, at all”.^[2][4]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it in a negative phrase, “not at all”.^[8]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek uses it for “entirely” and, with a negative, “not at all”.^[9]
• Modern Greek – καθόλου (kathólou) means “not at all”.^[10]

Meanings

Adverb

1. On the whole, in general, generally.^[4][2]
2. Used as an adjective: general; of first principles, universal.^[4][2]
3. (logic, with the article) The universal, as opposed to the particular; in the plural, universal truths.^[4][2]
4. Completely, entirely; in negative phrases, at all.^[4][2][8]

Word family

• καθολικός (katholikós)

Related words

• ὅλος (hólos)
• κατά (katá)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
8. ^ 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
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 c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki