μετά

Forms

μετᾰ́ (metá) (governs the genitive, dative, and accusative)^[1] Aeolic, Doric and Arcadian use πεδά (pedá) instead.^[2][3] Elided μετ᾽, and μεθ᾽ before a rough breathing.^[4] Mycenaean Greek me-ta, a preposition with the dative-locative, in the Pylos tablets.^[5][1]

Etymology

It has no exact match outside Greek, and its origin is obscure.^[6][7] In Beekes's view it is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *meth₂ (“in the midst, between, after”), and like Frisk he compares the Germanic preposition: Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌸 (miþ), Old Norse með and Old High German mit “with, among”, from Indo-European *met(í) or *medhi.^[2][6] The final /a/ may be an innovation after κατά (katá), ἀνά (aná) and διά (diá).^[2][6][7] Albanian mjet (“middle”) has also been compared.^[2][6] Chantraine and Frisk hold that it cannot be separated from μέχρι (mékhri, “until”), and probably not from μέσος (mésos, “middle”).^[7][6]

Kretschmer compared Illyrian names such as ⟨Metapa⟩, which Frisk and Chantraine mention, and Hahn's link with *sem- (the root of εἷς (heîs)) Frisk finds unconvincing.^[6][7] The adverb μεταξύ (metaxú, “between”) may come from ⟨μετα⟩ with ξύν (xún).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mycenaean Greek me-ta occurs in Pylos tablets with the dative-locative, meaning “together with, among”.^[5] In Homer the original sense seems to be “in the midst of”: with the dative, “among” people or “between” the hands.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

From “in the midst” the senses spread in several directions.^[7] With the genitive it meant “among”, and then “with, in company with”, and in Attic it competes in this use with σύν (sún), which it gradually replaced.^[7][8] With the accusative of a group it meant going “into the midst of” people, and so “towards, in pursuit of” a person, “following behind”, and finally, in time, “after”, as in μετὰ ταῦτα (metà taûta, “after this”).^[7][3] The dative use belongs to epic and lyric verse.^[3]

As a prefix it expresses sharing (μετέχω (metékhō)), succession and change (μεταβάλλω (metabállō)).^[9][3]

Medieval vernacular Greek kept it, with the forms ματά, μετέ, μι and μιτά.^[10] In Modern Greek μετά (metá) is a preposition with the accusative, “after”, and an adverb, “afterwards, then”.^[4]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – Pylos tablets use me-ta with the dative-locative, “among”.^[5]
• Homer – The Iliad uses it with the dative (“among”), the accusative (“towards”, “after”) and the genitive (“with”).^[7][3]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it with the genitive for “at the same time as” an event.^[3][11]
• 1100–1669 – Medieval vernacular texts use the forms ματά, μετέ and μιτά.^[10]
• Modern Greek – It is a preposition, “after”, and an adverb, “afterwards”.^[4]

Meanings

Preposition

1. (with the genitive) Among, in the midst of.^[8][7]
2. (with the genitive) With, together with, in company or alliance with; with the help of.^[3][8]
3. (with the genitive) Of manner: with (tears, haste, force); in accordance with (justice, the law).^[3]
4. (with the dative, poetic) Among; between (the hands, the jaws); in (the heart).^[3][7]
5. (with the accusative) Into the midst of, towards; in pursuit of, after.^[3][7]
6. (with the accusative) Behind, following; next to, next after (in rank or worth).^[3]
7. (with the accusative) Of time: after; during (the day, the night).^[3]

Adverb

1. Among them; afterwards, then; behind.^[3][7]

Word family

• μεταξύ (metaxú)
• μετέχω (metékhō)
• μεταβάλλω (metabállō)

Related words

• μέσος (mésos)
• μέχρι (mékhri)
• πεδά (pedá)
• Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌸 (miþ)

Usage notes

In verse it can follow its noun, with the accent thrown back (μέτα).^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 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
4. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
5. ^ a b c Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
6. ^ a b c d e f Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
8. ^ a b c Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
10. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
11. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge