πλαστικός

Forms

πλᾰστῐκός (plastikós) m (feminine πλᾰστῐκή, neuter πλᾰστῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek πλάσσω (plássō, “to form, mould”) with the suffix -τικός (-tikós).^[1][2] Babiniotis derives it from the verbal adjective πλαστός (plastós, “moulded”) with -ικός (-ikós).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Plato and Xenophon (5th–4th century BC): Plato uses it of earth that is easily moulded, and Xenophon of a man skilled in modelling.^[4][2][5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective meant “fit for moulding” and “of moulding”: Plato speaks of the moulding arts, the shaping of clay and wax, and Aristotle and later writers use ἡ πλαστική for the art of the modeller or sculptor.^[4][2][3]

Latin took the word as Latin plasticus, and French plastique gave Modern Greek πλαστικός (plastikós) its sense “of the plastic arts”; the senses “plastic” as a material and in plastic surgery follow English.^[6]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of mouldable earth and of the moulding arts, and Xenophon of a man skilled in modelling.^[4][2][5]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses the feminine πλαστική (plastikḗ) for the modeller's art.^[4][5]
• Modern Greek – πλαστικός (plastikós) means “plastic”, in senses taken from French and English.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Fit for moulding, plastic (of earth or clay).^[4][2]
2. Of moulding or modelling; ἡ πλαστική (sc. τέχνη), the plastic art, modelling or sculpture.^[4][2]
3. Skilled in modelling or sculpture (of a person).^[4][2]

Related words

• πλάσσω (plássō)
• πλαστός (plastós)
• πλάστης (plástēs)
• Latin plasticus
• English plastic

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki