σκεπτικός

Forms

σκεπτῐκός (skeptikós) m (feminine σκεπτῐκή, neuter σκεπτῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek σκέπτομαι (sképtomai) + -ικός (-ikós), from the verb meaning “to look about, consider”.^[1][2][3] The verb itself goes back, with a change in the order of its consonants, to Proto-Indo-European *spek- (“to observe”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest use that LSJ records is in Philodemus, in the 1st century BC, where it means “thoughtful, reflective”.^[5][6] Philo uses it in the same period.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The plain sense “given to reflection, inquiring” stayed in use, with a comparative and a superlative.^[5][2][8] Its history, though, is that of a school name: the followers of Pyrrho called themselves οἱ σκεπτικοί, “the inquirers”, philosophers who affirmed nothing as certain; they were also called ἀπορητικοί and ἐφεκτικοί.^[5][2] Lucian and Diogenes Laertius use the plural for them, Sextus Empiricus calls their doctrine ἡ σκεπτικὴ φιλοσοφία, and the adverb σκεπτικῶς means “in the manner of a Sceptic”.^[5] The name was sometimes also given to the Academic philosophers.^[2]

Through French and Latin the school name gave English skeptic (also sceptic), first of a member of the ancient school and later of anyone with a doubting attitude.^[4] In Modern Greek σκεπτικός (skeptikós) is a learned word, taken from the Hellenistic name of the Sceptics; it means both “thoughtful” and “sceptical”.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Philodemus uses it in the sense “thoughtful, reflective”.^[5][6]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Philo uses it several times.^[2][7]
• 2nd century AD – Lucian names the Sceptic philosophers οἱ σκεπτικοί.^[5][6]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Sextus Empiricus speaks of ἡ σκεπτικὴ φιλοσοφία, the Sceptic philosophy.^[5][6]
• 3rd century AD – Diogenes Laertius uses the adverb σκεπτικῶς of professing the Sceptic philosophy.^[5][6]
• 1580s – English borrows skeptic for a member of the ancient school.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Thoughtful, reflective.^[5][2]
2. (philosophy, as a plural noun) οἱ σκεπτικοί, the Sceptics, followers of Pyrrho, who asserted nothing as certain.^[5][2][3]
3. (philosophy) Of the Sceptic school: ἡ σκεπτικὴ φιλοσοφία, the Sceptic philosophy.^[5]

Related words

• σκέψις (sképsis)
• Latin scepticus
• English skeptic

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b Malhadas, Daisi; Dezotti, Maria Celeste C.; Neves, Maria Helena de Moura, eds. (2006–2010), Dicionário Grego-Português, São Paulo: Ateliê; digital ed. 3 (2022), UNESP Araraquara
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
9. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens