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πεῖσμα

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Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word πεῖσμα

πεῖσμα1 ship's cable

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Homer, Odyssey
From
Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /pêːz.ma/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈpiz.ma/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈpiz.ma/[1]

Forms

πεῖσμᾰ (peîsma) n (genitive πείσμᾰτος); third declension[1]

Etymology

The ship's cable is from earlier *πένθσμα (*pénthsma), a noun in -μα (-ma) from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie, bind”).[2][1][3] Greek may have kept that verb in πάσχω (páskhō), though in a quite different meaning, and πενθερός (pentherós, “father-in-law”) is an isolated derivative.[2][1] Hesychius' πάσμα (pásma), the stalk that attaches a leaf, may keep the zero grade, and his πέσμα (pésma) “stalk” is a mixed form.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Odyssey it is the stern-cable that ties a ship to land, and also a rope used to bind an animal's feet.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Aeschylus uses it for the cables of Xerxes' bridge of boats.[3] Theognis and Plato make it a figure for whatever holds firm: in the Laws people cling to an argument as to a secure cable.[3][4] Philo used it for the bond of marriage, and Heliodorus has the saying “every cable is broken”.[3] In the Geoponica it is the stalk of a fig.[3]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Odyssey uses it for a ship's stern-cable and for a rope.[3][4]
  • 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it for the cables of a bridge of boats.[3]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it figuratively for a secure hold.[3][4]
  • 1st century BC – 1st century AD – Philo uses it for the marriage tie.[3]
  • 10th century AD – The Geoponica use it for the stalk of a fig.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mooring line, the stern-cable that ties a ship to land.[3][4]
  2. (figurative) Something that holds secure.[4][3]
  3. A rope; a boat's painter.[3][4]
  4. The stalk of a fig.[3]

Word family

  • πεισμάτιον (peismátion)
  • πεισμάτιος (peismátios)

πεῖσμα2 persuasion

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1st–2nd century AD, Plutarch
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek πείθω

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /pêːz.ma/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈpiz.ma/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈpiz.ma/[1]

Forms

πεῖσμᾰ (peîsma) n (genitive πείσμᾰτος); third declension[1]

Etymology

The noun of persuasion is formed from Ancient Greek πείθω (peíthō, “to persuade”) + -μα (-ma), on the s-aorist stem ⟨πεισ-⟩.[1][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plutarch uses it in a phrase meaning “confidently”, Sextus Empiricus speaks of a firm conviction.[3]

Semantic evolution

Arrian's Epictetus and Porphyry also use it for persuasion or confidence.[3] In medieval Greek it came to mean a fixed purpose, persistence and obstinacy, as in the Chronicle of the Morea.[6][5] Modern Greek πείσμα (peísma) means stubbornness, with the medieval derivative πεισματάρης (peismatáris, “stubborn”).[7][5]

Timeline

  • 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for confidence.[3]
  • 2nd–3rd century AD – Sextus Empiricus uses it for conviction.[3]
  • Medieval Greek – It comes to mean persistence and obstinacy.[6][5]
  • Modern Greek – Modern Greek πείσμα (peísma) means stubbornness.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Persuasion, confidence, conviction.[3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 p q r s t u Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
  6. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Πεῖσμα.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%CF%80%CE%B5%E1%BF%96%CF%83%CE%BC%CE%B1. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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