συλλέγω

Forms

συλλέγω (sullégō) ^[1] Old Attic ξυλλέγω.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek συν- (sun-, “with, together”) + λέγω (légō, “to gather”),^[1][4] like ἐκλέγω (eklégō) and ἀντιλέγω (antilégō).^[4] Its second part keeps the old meaning “to gather”, which is from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect”).^[5][6]

Cognate with Latin legō (“to gather; to read”) and Albanian mbledh (“to collect”), which points to a palatal consonant.^[5] A root of the same meaning, *les-, is found in German lesen, Lithuanian lèsti and Hittite lešš-, but how it relates to this one is unclear.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is Homeric: the Iliad uses it for gathering possessions together, and in the Odyssey the middle means to gather companions (2.292).^[3][2][7]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it means to collect things, money and contributions, and to acquire a livelihood or property.^[2] With people as object it meant to bring together supporters, to convene an assembly and to levy an army, and the passive was used of people and troops assembling.^[2][3] Antiphon uses it for recruiting a chorus.^[2] Figuratively one could collect words and verses, build up anger, rally one's strength, and Plato speaks of the soul gathering itself into itself.^[2][3]

The New Testament uses it for gathering weeds and picking fruit.^[6] Modern Greek συλλέγω (sillégo) is learned: it means to harvest and to collect, and it took the senses of gathering into a store and of collecting as a hobby from French recueillir and collectionner.^[8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for gathering things and companions.^[3][7]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides use it for levying armies and convening assemblies.^[2][3]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for the soul gathering itself together.^[3][2]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it for collecting words and phrases.^[2]
• Modern Greek – The learned verb takes senses from French.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To bring together, collect (material things); (passive) to be collected.^[2][3]
2. To collect money or contributions; to acquire a livelihood or property.^[2]
3. To collect words, phrases or verses.^[2] (intransitive) to gather information.^[2]
4. (figurative) To build up (anger, hatred); (middle) to acquire (skills), to rally (one's strength).^[2][3]
5. To bring together (people, supporters); (passive) to assemble.^[2][3]
6. To convene (an assembly or council).^[2]
7. To levy or muster (an army, troops, ships).^[2][3]
8. To recruit (a chorus).^[2]
9. (New Testament) To gather or pick (fruit, weeds).^[6]

Word family

• σύλλογος (súllogos)
• συλλογή (sullogḗ)
• συλλέκτης (sulléktēs)

Related words

• λέγω (légō)
• Latin legō

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 k l m n o p q r Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b c 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 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
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki