Etymologically
Log in

οἶκος

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 16:34. This address is a permanent link to this version.
← Previous version Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /ôi̯.kos/[1]
  • IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈy.kos/[1]
  • IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈy.kos/[1]

Forms

οἶκος (oîkos) m (genitive οἴκου); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *wóikos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wóyḱos (“settlement”), from *weyḱ- (“to settle”).[1] Dialects that kept /w/ write it ϝοῖκος (woîkos), and Mycenaean has Mycenaean Greek wo-i-ko-de, read /woikon-de/ “homeward”.[2][1]

It is an old word for a dwelling, identical with Latin vīcus (“group of houses, village”) and Sanskrit वेश (veśá, “house”).[3] The zero grade appears in विश् (víś, “settlement, clan”) and Old Church Slavonic вьсь (vĭsĭ, “village”), while the noun Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐍃 (weihs, “village”) is formed differently from the same root.[3][1]

The grammarian Herodian derived it from εἴκω (eíkō, “to withdraw”), the house being where one withdraws.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it from the first book of the Iliad (“in our house”, 1.30) for any dwelling, including Achilles' hut at Troy and the Cyclops' cave.[5][6] It also means a part of the house, such as Penelope's quarters, and the household's goods: “my house is ruined” (Odyssey 2.64).[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it means the household and the family, and a dynasty from one generation to the next.[7] In Attic law it is the estate, an inheritance that someone could take possession of.[6][7] It also named a room, a dining hall, public buildings such as the meeting house of a clan, and temples.[6][7] Astrologers of the Roman period called the sign in which a planet rules its “house”.[6]

The Septuagint uses it for houses, palaces and the Temple of Jerusalem, and for families and nations, rendering Hebrew phrases with “house of”;[8] in the New Testament the Temple is “the house of God”.[6][9]

Medieval Greek kept it for a house, a palace and a church.[10] In Modern Greek οίκος is a learned word for a residence, also used for a dynasty (the house of Habsburg), a business (a fashion house), and in names such as the White House.[11][12]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses it for a house, and the Odyssey also for a household's goods.[5][6]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for a temple.[6][13]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Andocides and the Attic orators use it for an estate or inheritance.[6][13]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – The Septuagint uses it for the Temple and for families and nations.[8]
  • 1st–2nd century AD – Astrologers use it for the house of a planet.[6]
  • Modern Greek – οίκος is a learned word for a house, a dynasty or a firm.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A house, home, any dwelling.[6][7]
  2. A room, chamber; a hall; a building used for a purpose.[6][7]
  3. A household; a family or dynasty.[7]
  4. Household goods, substance;[6][7]
  5. (Attic law) an estate, inheritance.[6][7]
  6. A temple, the house of a god.[6][7]
  7. (astrology) The domicile of a planet.[6]
  8. A birdcage; a beehive.[6]

Word family

  • κάτοικος (kátoikos)
  • οἰκογενής (oikogenḗs)
  • οἰκοδεσπότης (oikodespótēs)
  • οἰκοδομέω (oikodoméō)
  • οἰκοδομία (oikodomíā)
  • οἰκόθετος (oikóthetos)
  • οἰκονομέω (oikonoméō)
  • οἰκονόμος (oikonómos)
  • οἰκοποιός (oikopoiós)
  • οἰκουρός (oikourós)
  • οἰκοφύλαξ (oikophúlax)
  • πάροικος (pároikos)
  • μύλοικος (múloikos)
  • οἰκοδίαιτος (oikodíaitos)
  • οἴκαδε (oíkade)
  • οἴκει (oíkei)
  • οἰκεῖος (oikeîos)
  • οἰκέτης (oikétēs)
  • οἰκεύς (oikeús)
  • οἰκέω (oikéō)
  • οἰκία (oikíā)
  • οἰκίδιος (oikídios)
  • οἰκίζω (oikízō)
  • οἰκίον (oikíon)
  • Latin vīcus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  4. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
  5. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  8. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  11. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  12. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
  13. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge