κατηχέω

Forms

κᾰτηχέω (katēkhéō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Ancient Greek κατα- (kata-) + ἠχέω (ēkhéō, “to sound”).^[1][2][3] The first sense is to resound.^[2][3][4] The sense to teach by word of mouth grew out of “to make something ring in someone's ears”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is a late word, rare in classical Greek and absent from the Septuagint.^[2][5] It is first recorded in the 1st century BC, when Vitruvius cites it as a technical term for a sound that rings out of tune.^[6][4][7]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense, to resound, is rare: besides Vitruvius' term, opposed to συνηχέω (sunēkhéō), Philostratus uses it of the harmony of the sea sounding through or over something.^[6][4] Far more common was the sense “to tell by word of mouth, to inform”: King Agrippa promises in a letter quoted by Josephus to tell him in person many things not generally known, and Philo uses the passive for “to have heard”.^[2][5][6] In the Acts of the Apostles the brothers in Jerusalem have been told that Paul teaches apostasy from Moses.^[2][5]

From informing someone the verb moved to instructing them, and a 3rd-century papyrus uses it for giving a lawyer instructions.^[2] In most of its New Testament occurrences it refers to instruction in the gospel: Luke writes so that Theophilus may know the truth of what he has been taught, Apollos had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and Paul would rather speak five words with understanding to instruct others than many words in a tongue.^[2][5][6] Spicq notes that these passages do not yet have the later technical sense of catechesis.^[2] The present participle passive, “one being instructed”, came to mean a candidate for baptism, and as a word for such a convert it was borrowed into Coptic, where it is recorded from about AD 300.^[4][8] The participle reached English through Church Latin as catechumen, first recorded in the late 14th century.^[9]

Modern Greek κατηχώ (katichó) is a learned verb meaning to teach someone the doctrines of Christianity before baptism, and also to indoctrinate.^[10][3]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Vitruvius cites it for a sound ringing out of tune.^[6][7]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Philo uses the passive for being informed of something.^[6][5][7]
• 1st century AD – Josephus quotes Agrippa's promise to tell him much by word of mouth.^[2][6]
• 1st century AD – Paul, Luke and the Acts use it for instruction in the faith.^[2][5]
• 2nd century AD – Lucian uses it for instructing someone.^[6][7]
• 3rd century AD – A papyrus uses it for giving a lawyer instructions, and Philostratus uses it of the sea's harmony.^[2][6][7]
• About AD 300 – The participle is first recorded as a Coptic loanword for a catechumen.^[8]
• Late 14th century – English borrows the participle through Church Latin as catechumen.^[9]
• Modern Greek – It survives as a learned verb, to catechize.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To Resound, to sound over or through something; to sound out of tune.^[6][4]
2. To tell by word of mouth, to inform; in the passive, to be told, to hear.^[6][5][2]
3. To instruct, to teach.^[6][2]
4. (New Testament, Christianity) To instruct in the faith, to catechize; the passive participle, a catechumen.^[6][5][4]

Word family

• κατήχησις (katḗkhēsis)
• κατηχίζω (katēkhízō)

Related words

• ἠχέω (ēkhéō)
• ἦχος (êkhos)
• English catechumen

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
3. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d e f Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
8. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki