οἰκέω

Forms

οἰκέω (oikéō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + -έω (-éō), a denominative verb.^[1][2] Locrian has ϝοικέω (woikéō) with the initial /w/ that Attic lost.^[3][4] The noun is an old word for a dwelling, identical with Latin vīcus (“village”) and Sanskrit वेश (veśa, “house”), from Proto-Indo-European *wóyḱos.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for peoples who live in a place and for settling: the Iliad has the aorist passive ᾤκηθεν, “they settled”.^[5][6][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it means to live somewhere or to inhabit a land, city or house; to settle a land or found a city; and to live as a guest, exile or metic in another community.^[5] Of a city or constitution it means to exist or be in a certain state, and of a city or estate, with an adverb, to be governed well or badly.^[5] The passive is used of a land that is inhabited and civilized, as opposed to wild or deserted country.^[5]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament it is used of living with someone, also in marriage, and Paul uses it of the Spirit of God, and of sin, dwelling in a person.^[2] Modern Greek keeps it as the learned οικώ (oikó), to reside.^[7]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for settling and the Odyssey for living in a place.^[5][6][4]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony has the epic form οἰκείω.^[4][8]
• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus has an Aeolic participle of it.^[4][8]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for founding a city and for living as a foreigner.^[5][8]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles, Euripides and Thucydides use it for governing a city or household.^[5][8]
• 1st century AD – Paul uses it of the Spirit and of sin dwelling in a person.^[2]
• Modern Greek – It survives as the learned οικώ (oikó).^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To live or dwell somewhere; to inhabit a land, city or house.^[5][4]
2. To settle a land; to found a city; in the passive, to be settled or founded.^[5]
3. To live in another community as a guest, exile or metic.^[5]
4. Of gods, to have a dwelling or temple somewhere.^[5]
5. Of a city or district, to be situated somewhere; of a city or constitution, to be in a certain state, flourish.^[5]
6. To govern or manage a city, land or household, well or badly.^[5]
7. (New Testament) Of the Spirit, or of sin, to dwell in a person.^[2]

Word family

• ἄγροικος (ágroikos)
• ἀποικέω (apoikéō)
• διοικέω (dioikéō)
• ἐνοικέω (enoikéō)
• ἐποικέω (epoikéō)
• κατοικέω (katoikéō)
• μετοικέω (metoikéō)
• παροικέω (paroikéō)
• περιοικέω (perioikéō)
• προσοικέω (prosoikéō)
• συνοικέω (sunoikéō)

Related words

• οἴκημα (oíkēma)
• οἰκήσιμος (oikḗsimos)
• οἴκησις (oíkēsis)
• οἰκητήρ (oikētḗr)
• οἰκητήριον (oikētḗrion)
• οἰκητής (oikētḗs)
• οἰκητικός (oikētikós)
• οἰκητός (oikētós)
• οἰκήτωρ (oikḗtōr)
• οἶκος (oîkos)
• οἰκία (oikíā)
• οἰκίζω (oikízō)
• Latin vīcus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f 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 k l m 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 Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge