λογική

Forms

λογῐκή (logikḗ) f (genitive λογῐκῆς); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine adjective from Ancient Greek λογικός (logikós, “of speech, of reason”) used as a noun, short for the phrase “the logical art”, with τέχνη (tékhnē, “art”) understood.^[2][3][4][5] The adjective is formed from λόγος (lógos, “word, reason”).^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is found in the 1st century BC: Dionysius of Halicarnassus uses it for speech as opposed to music, and Cicero quotes it as the Greek name of logic.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In philosophy the logical part of the subject had been called τὸ λογικόν or τὰ λογικά, which the Stoic Zeno set beside physics and ethics; ἡ λογική became the usual name of the discipline.^[2] Psellus in the 11th century still uses it for logic.^[9]

Through Latin logica and Old French logique it gave English logic in the 14th century.^[5] In Modern Greek λογική (logikí) is a learned word for the science of the laws of thought and for logical reasoning; the Academy dictionary also traces the modern word to French logique and to English logic.^[10][3][11]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Dionysius of Halicarnassus uses it for speech as opposed to music, and Cicero names logic with it.^[2][8]
• 11th century – Psellus uses it for logic.^[9]
• Mid-14th century – English takes logic from it through Latin and Old French.^[5]
• Modern Greek – λογική (logikí) is the learned name of logic.^[10][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rhetoric) speech, prose, as opposed to music or verse.^[2][8]
2. (philosophy) logic, the art of reasoning.^[2][8][9]

Word family

• λογικός (logikós)

Related words

• λόγος (lógos)
• Latin logica
• English logic

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
4. ^ Τεγόπουλος, Γ.; Φυτράκης, Ε. (1997), Μείζον Ελληνικό Λεξικό, Athens: Αρμονία
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
7. ^ Malhadas, Daisi; Dezotti, Maria Celeste C.; Neves, Maria Helena de Moura, eds. (2006–2010), Dicionário Grego-Português, São Paulo: Ateliê; digital ed. 3 (2022), UNESP Araraquara
8. ^ a b c d Дворецкий, И. Х. (1958), Древнегреческо-русский словарь, Moscow: ГИС
9. ^ a b c Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens