συνέδριον

Forms

σῠνέδρῐον (sunédrion) n (genitive σῠνεδρῐ́ου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Ancient Greek σύνεδρος (súnedros, “sitting together; councillor”) with the suffix -ιον (-ion).^[1][2][3] The adjective is formed from σύν (sún, “with”) and ἕδρα (hédrā, “seat”),^[1][4] which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Herodotus uses it for the council of the allied Greek commanders before Salamis, and for the place where they met.^[6][2][7]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it was any council or meeting: a congress of allies (Herodotus, Xenophon, Demosthenes), a council of war, a board of trade, the Areopagus at Athens, and also the place where such a body met.^[6][2][8] Plato uses it ironically for a gathering of philosophers.^[2] Polybius and Plutarch use it for the Roman and the Carthaginian senates.^[6][2]

In the Septuagint it is a council or assembly.^[9] In the New Testament and Josephus it is the high council of the Jews at Jerusalem, made up of the high priests, the elders and the scribes, and also the local councils of the synagogues.^[4][6] Mishnaic Hebrew took the word as Biblical Hebrew סַנְהֶדְרִין (sanhedrîn), from which English Sanhedrin comes.^[4][5] Ignatius of Antioch transferred it to the elders of the church, the “council of God”.^[4] Later it was the name of the senate at Constantinople.^[6]

The Modern Greek συνέδριο (synédrio) is a learned word for a congress or conference of representatives.^[10][3]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for the council of the allied Greeks and their meeting place.^[6][2][7]
• 4th century BC – Aeschines and Demosthenes use it for the Areopagus and for congresses of allies.^[6][11]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for the Roman Senate.^[6][11]
• 1st century AD – The Gospels use it for the Jewish high council.^[4][6]
• 4th century AD – Libanius uses it for the senate at Constantinople.^[6][11]
• 1580s – English sanhedrim is first recorded, through Hebrew.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A council, a governing board or assembly; the Areopagus; the Roman or Carthaginian senate.^[2][6]
2. A congress of allies or confederates.^[2][6]
3. (New Testament) The Sanhedrin, the high council at Jerusalem; local councils of the synagogues.^[4][6]
4. (ironic) A conclave of philosophers.^[2]
5. A council-chamber, a meeting-place.^[2][6]

Related words

• σύνεδρος (súnedros)
• συνεδρεύω (sunedreúō)
• ἕδρα (hédrā)
• English Sanhedrin

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d e f 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
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
10. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge