Etymologically
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σοφός

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /so.pʰós/[1]
  • IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /soˈɸos/[1]
  • IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /soˈfos/[1]

Forms

σοφός (sophós) m (feminine σοφή, neuter σοφόν); first/second declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is unexplained.[2][3][1] Indo-European explanations have failed.[3] If Σίσυφος (Sī́suphos), σάφα (sápha, “clearly”) and ψέφει (pséphei) are related, it would be a substrate word, perhaps Pre-Greek; the Πάπυρος dictionary does not find these links satisfactory.[2][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first recorded use is in a fragment of Hesiod.[2][3] The comic epic Margites uses it of skill even in digging and ditching.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was skilled in a craft or art: Pindar calls a charioteer σοφός, Archilochus and Aeschylus a helmsman, and tragedy a seer; it was used above all of poets and musicians (Pindar, Euripides, Aristophanes).[5][7] From Theognis, Simonides and Pindar on it also meant wise, sensible, and in a bad sense clever, shrewd.[7][1]

Its derivatives carried both senses: σοφία (sophíā) “skill, wisdom”, σοφίζομαι (sophízomai) “to devise”, σόφισμα (sóphisma) “clever trick” and σοφιστής (sophistḗs) “expert, sophist”, and the compound φιλόσοφος (philósophos) “lover of wisdom” (Heraclitus).[2][4] It is the first part of the name Σοφοκλῆς (Sophoklês).[2] Modern Greek σοφός is learned; its original sense was “skilled in a craft”.[8]

Timeline

  • Before the 6th century BC – A Hesiodic fragment uses it.[2][9]
  • 7th–6th century BC – The Margites uses it for skill in a craft.[5][6]
  • 6th century BC – Theognis uses it for wise.[7][9]
  • 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of poets and charioteers.[5][7][9]
  • Modern Greek – σοφός means wise.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Skilled in a craft or art, clever, expert.[5][7]
  2. Of poets and musicians: skilful.[5][7]
  3. Wise, sensible, prudent.[7][1]
  4. Cunning, shrewd.[1][2]

Word family

  • ἀκρόσοφος (akrósophos)
  • ἄσοφος (ásophos)
  • δοκησίσοφος (dokēsísophos)
  • δοξόσοφος (doxósophos)
  • πάνσοφος (pánsophos)
  • σοφία (sophíā)
  • ὑπέρσοφος (hupérsophos)
  • φιλόσοφος (philósophos)
  • ἀγροικόσοφος (agroikósophos)
  • διάσοφος (diásophos)
  • ἐθελοφιλόσοφος (ethelophilósophos)
  • ἔνσοφος (énsophos)
  • ἐπίσσοφος (epíssophos)
  • θεόσοφος (theósophos)
  • ἀποσοφόομαι (aposophóomai)
  • ἀσοφία (asophía)
  • ἀσόφιστος (asóphistos)
  • αὐτοσοφία (autosophíā)
  • δειπνοσοφιστής (deipnosophistḗs)
  • διασοφίζομαι (diasophízomai)
  • δοξοσοφία (doxosophíā)
  • ἐνσοφιστεύω (ensophisteúō)
  • ἐπισοφίζομαι (episophízomai)
  • θεοσοφία (theosophíā)
  • English philosophy

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  4. ^ a b Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
  5. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  9. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge