μηχανή
Pronunciation
- IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /mɛː.kʰa.nɛ̌ː/[1]
- IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /mi.xaˈni/[1]
- IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /mi.xaˈni/[1]
Forms
μηχᾰνή (mēkhanḗ) f (genitive μηχᾰνῆς); first declension[1]
Etymology
Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, from Pre-Greek, because of the element -αν- and because its alternating forms are hard to derive from an Indo-European root; he holds that its link with μάγγανον (mánganon, “charm; block of a pulley”) proves the Pre-Greek origin.[2][1] Scarborough's database rates this very reliable.[3]
The traditional view derives it, with μῆχος (mêkhos, “means”), from Indo-European Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- (“to be able”), comparing Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌲 (mag, “can, may”) and Old Church Slavonic мощи (mošti, “to be able”).[4][1] Frisk explains the form from an old heteroclite noun *μᾶχαρ (*mâkhar), genitive *μάχανος (*mákhanos), whose /n/-stem was generalised and given a final -ā.[4][5] The Doric form is μαχανά (mākhanā́).[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
Its first recorded use is in Hesiod's Theogony, for contrivances.[6][7] Pindar has the Doric μαχανά.[6]
Semantic evolution
Its abstract sense, device, contrivance, stratagem or scheme, is found from Hesiod and the lyric poets on, often with a bad sense.[7] Concretely it is a machine: a hoist for raising building stones in Herodotus, Poseidon's trident in Aeschylus, siege engines in Thucydides, Xenophon and Polybius, and an automaton in Polybius.[7][3] In the theatre it was the crane on which gods appeared in the air, mentioned by Plato, Demosthenes, Aristotle and Menander.[7] It also meant a means of doing something, and Demosthenes quotes a law with “by any means whatever”.[7]
Latin borrowed it as machina.[8] Medieval Greek kept the word,[9] and Modern Greek μηχανή continues it.[10]
Timeline
- Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony uses it.[6][11]
- 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses the Doric form;[6] Aeschylus uses it of Poseidon's trident.[6][7][11]
- 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for a hoist;[3] Thucydides for siege engines.[7][3][11]
- 4th century BC – Aristotle and Demosthenes mention the stage crane.[7][11]
- Modern Greek – μηχανή continues the ancient word.[10]
Meanings
Noun
- A device, contrivance; a stratagem, scheme.[7][1]
- A machine: a hoist, an automaton.[7]
- A siege engine; defensive machinery.[7]
- The stage crane of the theatre.[7]
- A means of doing something.[7]
Word family
- ἀμήχανος (amḗkhanos)
- κακομήχανος (kakomḗkhanos)
- μηχανάομαι (mēkhanáomai)
- μηχανάω (mēkhanáō)
- μηχάνημα (mēkhánēma)
- μηχάνησις (mēkhánēsis)
- μηχανικός (mēkhanikós)
- μηχάνωμα (mēkhánōma)
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d Scarborough, Matthew (2025), PHILOGLOSSA: database of Pre-Greek and other non-Indo-European words in Ancient Greek, version 1.0
- ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
- ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
- ^ a b c d e Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
- ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
- ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
- ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge