ποιμήν

Forms

ποιμήν (poimḗn) m (genitive ποιμένος); third declension^[1] Mycenaean Greek po-me, genitive Mycenaean Greek po-me-no.^[2][3] Doric ποιμάν (poimā́n) (Theocritus).^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *poimḗn,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *poh₂imḗn (“herdsman”), an agent noun from *peh₂- (“to protect”).^[1][5] It corresponds exactly to Lithuanian piemuõ (“herdsman”).^[5][6] The neuter πῶυ (pôu, “flock”) is formally close to Sanskrit पायु (pāyú-, “protector”), and both come from the verb seen in Sanskrit पाति (pā́ti, “to protect”).^[5] The frequent i-extension implies an older present with i.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mycenaean tablets from Knossos and Pylos record Mycenaean Greek po-me, a shepherd.^[2][3] In Homer it is a herdsman of sheep or oxen, and the formula “shepherd of the people” is used of Agamemnon and other leaders.^[6][3][7]

Semantic evolution

After Homer it always means a shepherd of sheep or goats, and Chantraine and Benveniste take the sheepfold as its proper sense.^[6][3] Poets kept the metaphor of the leader: Aeschylus has “shepherds of ships”, Euripides “shepherds of companies”, and Pindar calls the Loves the shepherds of Aphrodite's gifts.^[6][4]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament it is also a pastor who teaches the truth, and Christ is the good shepherd.^[6][3][8] Its derivatives include ποίμνη (poímnē, “flock”) and the verb ποιμαίνω (poimaínō, “to tend”).^[3] Medieval and Modern Greek keep it as a learned word, ποιμένας (piménas), for a shepherd and for a spiritual leader.^[9][10]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – Knossos and Pylos tablets record Mycenaean Greek po-me.^[2][3]
• Homer – The Iliad calls Agamemnon “shepherd of the people”.^[6][7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it for commanders of ships.^[6][11]
• 5th century BC – Euripides opposes herdsmen of oxen and shepherds.^[6][11]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for Christ and for pastors of the church.^[8][6]
• Modern Greek – ποιμένας (piménas) is a learned word for a shepherd and a spiritual leader.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shepherd; in Homer also a herdsman of oxen.^[4][6]
2. (figurative) A leader or ruler, as “shepherd of the people”.^[4][6]
3. A commander or captain, as of ships or companies.^[4][6]
4. A master, lord.^[6][4]
5. (Septuagint, New Testament) A pastor, a spiritual leader.^[6][8]

Word family

• ποιμαίνω (poimaínō)
• ποιμενικός (poimenikós)
• ποίμνη (poímnē)
• ποίμνιον (poímnion)

Related words

• πῶϋ (pôü)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b c 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
9. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge