σχίσμα

Forms

σχῐ́σμᾰ (skhísma) n (genitive σχῐ́σμᾰτος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō, “to split”) + -μα (-ma), the suffix of nouns of result.^[2][3][4][5] The verb continues Proto-Indo-European *sk̑ʰei̯d- (“to separate, tear”).^[6][7] Its cognates include Latin scindō (“to split”) and scissus (“split”), which matches Greek σχιστός (skhistós).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest use is in Aristotle's History of Animals, for the cleft of an animal's hoof.^[8][9][10]

Semantic evolution

Theophrastus uses it for the divisions of a leaf.^[8] In a papyrus of the 1st century BC the rules of a brotherhood of Zeus Hypsistos strictly forbid its members to form factions.^[4] The New Testament has both senses: a tear in a garment, made worse by a patch of new cloth (Matthew 9.16, Mark 2.21), and a division of opinion among people (John 7.43, 1 Corinthians 1.10).^[4][11][12] Christian usage made it the word for a schism, a split from the unity of the Church on grounds of discipline or ambition rather than doctrine.^[13][14][15] It was borrowed as Coptic ⲥⲭⲓⲥⲙⲁ (skhisma), recorded in Lycopolitan from about AD 200.^[16] Rufus uses it for the vulva, Hesychius gives it as the name of a dance figure, and a papyrus of the 6th century AD as “ploughing”.^[8][17]

The English word came through Old French and Ecclesiastical Latin schisma.^[18] Modern Greek σχίσμα (schísma) is a learned word, whose senses follow Medieval Latin schisma and French schisme.^[13]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for the cleft of hoofs.^[8][10][19]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus uses it for the divisions of leaves.^[8][19]
• 1st century BC – A papyrus with the rules of a brotherhood of Zeus Hypsistos forbids factions.^[4]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for a tear in a garment and for division of opinion.^[4][11]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Rufus uses it for the vulva.^[8][19]
• About AD 200 – Coptic texts in Lycopolitan have the borrowing ⲥⲭⲓⲥⲙⲁ (skhisma).^[16]
• 6th century AD – A papyrus uses it for ploughing.^[8]
• Late 14th century – English schism appears, through Old French and Church Latin.^[18]
• Modern Greek – The learned word is used of schisms in the Church and of divisions in general.^[13][14]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cleft, split, division, as of hoofs or of leaves.^[8][9]
2. A rent or tear in a garment.^[8][4][11]
3. A division of opinion, dissension,^[8][11] and (Christianity) a schism.^[8][11][4]
4. (medicine) The vulva.^[8]
5. A figure in dancing.^[8][17]
6. (papyri) Ploughing.^[8]

Word family

• σχισματώδης (skhismatṓdēs)

Related words

• σχισμή (skhismḗ)
• σχισμός (skhismós)
• σχίσις (skhísis)
• σχιστός (skhistós)
• Latin schisma
• English schism

Usage notes

Christian usage distinguishes it from αἵρεσις (haíresis): heresy is a departure from the truth of doctrine, schism a departure from the unity of the Church.^[15][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1889), An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Strong, James (1890), A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament, in The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, New York: Hunt & Eaton
6. ^ Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b 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
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
10. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
11. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
12. ^ a b Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
13. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
14. ^ a b Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
15. ^ a b Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
16. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
17. ^ a b Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
18. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
19. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge