πρωτότυπος

Forms

πρωτότῠπος (prōtótupos) m or f (neuter πρωτότῠπον); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos, “first”) + τύπος (túpos, “impression, mould”).^[2][3] Wiktionary analyses the second part as from the verb τύπτω (túptō, “to strike”), the source of the noun as well.^[1] The neuter used as a noun, πρωτότυπον (prōtótupon), passed through Latin prototypus into many languages, such as French and English prototype and German Prototyp.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first found as a grammatical term in Dionysius Thrax, who uses it of primitive words as against derived words.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In grammar πρωτότυπος meant a primitive word as against a derived (παράγωγος) one, and Apollonius Dyscolus called the personal pronouns “primitive” as against the possessives.^[6][2] Galen also used it for “original”.^[6]

In Hellenistic and later Greek it meant original or archetypal, the first form from which copies are made: Origen speaks of the gods shaped after a prototype, as images of it, and the neoplatonists Simplicius and Damascius use it for “archetypal”.^[2][6] The neuter noun πρωτότυπον was the original or archetype.^[6] In Byzantine papyri the masculine noun was the principal party to a contract, and medieval legal texts speak of the principal debtor.^[6][7]

Modern Greek πρωτότυπος (protótypos) means original, not copied, and also innovative, a sense that copies French original.^[4][2] English prototype, first recorded about 1600, came from French and Medieval Latin.^[3]

Timeline

• 2nd–1st century BC – Dionysius Thrax uses it for primitive words.^[2][5][8]
• 2nd century AD – Galen and Apollonius Dyscolus use it in grammar for primitive or original forms.^[6][8]
• 3rd century AD – Origen uses it for an original after which images are made.^[2]
• 5th–6th century AD – Damascius and Simplicius use it for “archetypal”, and papyri use the noun for the principal party to a contract.^[6][8]
• About 1600 – English borrows the noun as prototype.^[3]
• Modern Greek – It means original or innovative, partly under French influence.^[4][2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Original, primitive, in grammar of a primitive word as against a derived one, and of the personal pronouns as against the possessives.^[6][2]
2. Archetypal.^[6]

Noun

1. (Byzantine, law) The principal party to a contract; the principal debtor.^[6][7]

Word family

• πρωτότυπον (prōtótupon)

Related words

• πρῶτος (prôtos)
• τύπος (túpos)
• English prototype

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
8. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge