συγγράφω

Forms

σῠγγρᾰ́φω (sungráphō) ^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek συν- (sun-, “together”) + γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).^[1][2] The /n/ of the prefix is assimilated to the following /g/, and the spelling ⟨γγ⟩ stands for /ŋg/.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Herodotus it means to write down, especially in the middle voice, to have something written down (an oracle, a message).^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Herodotus also uses it for describing a thing in writing.^[3] From the late 5th century BC it was the verb for composing a work: Thucydides opens his history by saying that he “wrote up” the war, and Plato and Isocrates use it of writing in prose as opposed to verse.^[3][4] Isocrates and Plato use it of composing speeches, and Plato speaks of the man who “wrote” the book on cookery.^[3][4]

In Athenian public life it was the verb for drafting a law or motion, and the active and middle meant to frame proposals in a commission.^[3][4] The middle came to mean to make a written agreement: a peace treaty in Thucydides and Isocrates, a commercial contract in Demosthenes and in Ptolemaic papyri, a marriage contract in a papyrus of the 2nd century BC.^[3][4] It could also mean to paint or draw a scene (Lucian), and Plutarch renders the Roman patres conscripti with its passive participle.^[3]

The word lives on in Modern Greek as a learned verb, συγγράφω (singráfo), to write a scholarly or literary work in prose.^[5][2]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for writing down and describing.^[3][4][6]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it for writing the history of the war, and for signing a treaty.^[3][4]
• 5th–4th century BC – Andocides and Xenophon use it for drafting laws, and Isocrates and Plato for writing in prose.^[3][4]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses the middle for making a commercial contract.^[3][4]
• 3rd century BC – Ptolemaic papyri use the middle for contracts and bills.^[3]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses its passive participle for the Roman conscript fathers.^[3]
• 2nd century AD – Lucian uses it for representing a scene in a painting.^[3]
• Modern Greek – It is a learned verb for writing a work in prose.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To write down, put in writing, or (middle) to have something written down.^[3][4]
2. To describe in writing.^[3]
3. To compose a written work, especially a history or a treatise; to write in prose as opposed to verse.^[3][4]
4. To compose a speech, or (middle) to have speeches written for oneself.^[3][4]
5. To draft a law or motion for a vote.^[3][4]
6. (middle) To draw up a written agreement: to sign a treaty, to make a contract.^[3][4]
7. To represent in a painting; to paint together.^[3][4]
8. Of an architect, to draw up specifications.^[3]

Word family

• συγγραφή (sungraphḗ)
• συγγραφεύς (sungrapheús)
• σύγγραφος (súngraphos)

Related words

• γράφω (gráphō)
• σύγγραμμα (súngramma)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
6. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge