σύγχρονος

Forms

σύγχρονος (súnkhronos) m or f (neuter σύγχρονον); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek σύν (sún, “with, together”) + χρόνος (khrónos, “time”), “of the same time”.^[1][2][3] Babiniotis gives its first sense as “simultaneous” and places it in the Hellenistic period.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest text with it in the GLAUx corpus is the Life of Aesop, which GLAUx dates to the 1st century AD.^[4] The earliest citation in LSJ is Maximus of Tyre (2nd century AD), meaning “contemporaneous”.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It remained a late and rather rare word, used by Hippolytus and Methodius and by Nonnus.^[4][5] Grammarians used it for “simultaneous”, and it could also denote a contemporary.^[7][8]

It was borrowed as Late Latin synchronus, whence English synchronous.^[9] The learned Modern Greek σύγχρονος (sýnchronos) of today means “simultaneous”, in a sense modelled on French simultané, and “contemporary, modern”, after French contemporain and moderne.^[10][11]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – The Life of Aesop is the earliest text with the word in the GLAUx corpus.^[4]
• 2nd century AD – Maximus of Tyre uses it for “contemporaneous”.^[5][6]
• 3rd century AD – Hippolytus uses it in his Refutation of All Heresies.^[4][6]
• 4th–5th century AD – Nonnus uses it in the Dionysiaca.^[5][6]
• 1660s – English synchronous appears, from Late Latin, which took it from Greek.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The learned word means “simultaneous” and “contemporary, modern”, senses modelled on French.^[10][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Contemporaneous, happening or living at the same time.^[5][12][13]
2. (grammar) Simultaneous.^[7]
3. (as a noun) A contemporary.^[8]

Related words

• συγχρονίζω (sunkhronízō)
• ἔγχρονος (énkhronos)
• English synchronous

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
5. ^ a b c d e Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
12. ^ Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
13. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli