κοσμέω

Forms

κοσμέω (kosméō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is a denominative verb from Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos, “order; ornament”), with the suffix -έω (-éō).^[1][2] Beekes reconstructs the noun as Proto-Indo-European *ḱoNs-mo-, which links it with Latin cēnseō (“to estimate, assess”); the original meaning would have been “put in order (by speaking)”, and “adorn” is probably a later development within Greek.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it means to set in order and marshal troops: a leader is praised for drawing up horses and shield-bearing men.^[3][4] The Odyssey uses it of preparing a meal.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Hesiod and the Homeric Hymns have the sense “adorn, dress”, above all of women and goddesses.^[5][6] From order came “rule, govern” a city, in Herodotus and Sophocles, and in Crete, to hold the office of κόσμος (kósmos), the chief magistrate.^[4][7] Classical authors also use it of equipping troops, of dressing a corpse and honouring the dead, of glorifying people in song and speech, and of embellishing a story.^[5]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament it still means both to put in order (to trim lamps, a house swept and put in order) and to adorn, as a bride adorned for her husband in Revelation.^[8][9][10] It passed into Coptic, first in a manuscript of about AD 825.^[11] Medieval vernacular Greek kept it for “put in order” and “adorn”,^[12] and Modern Greek κοσμώ (kosmó) is a learned continuation meaning to adorn and to bring credit to a group.^[13]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of marshalling troops, the Odyssey of preparing a meal.^[3][4]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it of adorning a woman.^[5][6][14]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of ruling a city well.^[4][14]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of holding office as a Cretan magistrate.^[7][14]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it of trimming lamps and adorning a bride.^[8]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use κοσμώ (kosmó) for setting in order and adorning.^[12]
• Modern Greek – The learned κοσμώ (kosmó) means to adorn or to be a credit to.^[13]

Meanings

Verb

1. To set in order, marshal troops;^[5] (passive) to be drawn up in order.^[4][5][3]
2. To arrange, prepare (a meal, a table).^[4][5]
3. To order, rule, govern; to discipline; in Crete, to hold the office of kosmos.^[4][5][7]
4. To adorn, dress, deck out (a person, a house, a temple); to equip (soldiers).^[5][4]
5. To dress a corpse; to honour the dead with due rites.^[5]
6. To honour, glorify (in song or speech); to embellish (a narrative), or gloss over (faults).^[5]
7. (New Testament) To put in order, make tidy; to trim (lamps).^[8]

Word family

• ἀποκοσμέω (apokosméō)
• διακοσμέω (diakosméō)
• ἐπικοσμέω (epikosméō)
• κατακοσμέω (katakosméō)
• κόσμημα (kósmēma)
• κοσμήτωρ (kosmḗtōr)
• συγκοσμέω (sunkosméō)
• ἀνακοσμέω (anakosméō)
• κοσμητικός (kosmētikós)
• κοσμητής (kosmētḗs)

Related words

• κόσμος (kósmos)
• κόσμιος (kósmios)
• English cosmetic

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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 Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1889), An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
10. ^ Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
11. ^ Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
12. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
13. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
14. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge