τάξις

Forms

τᾰ́ξῐς (táxis) f (genitive τᾰ́ξεως or τᾰ́ξῐος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek τάσσω (tássō, “to arrange, to draw up”) + -σις (-sis, “action-noun suffix”), from the stem ταγ- (tag-) of the verb.^[1][2][3] Beekes takes the ⟨γ⟩ of ταγή (tagḗ) and τάγμα (tágma) to show that the present of the verb is analogical.^[4]

The verb has no certain cognates.^[4] Beekes mentions comparisons with Old Persian ham-ataxšata (“they put in order”) and, less certainly, Lithuanian, and a possible root Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g-.^[4] Pokorny lists the Greek words under a root *tāg- (“to put in order”).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first records are in Aeschylus' Persians, where it means a body of troops and a squadron of ships.^[6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a military term: the drawing up of an army, its battle order, a single line of soldiers, a body of troops and a soldier's post in the line.^[6][7][2] At Athens it was the infantry contingent that each tribe supplied, and “leaving one's post” was the standard phrase for desertion, in the orators and in Plato.^[6][7]

From there it became the general word for arrangement and order: Plato sets it against disorder, rhetoric calls the arrangement of a speech its τάξις as opposed to its wording, and Aristotle uses it for a state's constitution.^[6][3] It also meant an ordinance, an assessment of tribute, and figuratively a rank or position in life, as in Demosthenes' “a slave's position”.^[6][3]

Later military writers used it for a unit of 128 men, and Libanius for membership of the palace militia.^[6] In the New Testament it is the fixed rota of priestly service, good order in worship and an assigned position.^[9] Christian writers used it for an order of clergy, and Coptic borrowed it by about AD 600.^[3][10] Modern Greek has the learned τάξη (táxi), “order”, which also took the senses “class” (in society and in school) from French and English.^[11][3]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of a body of soldiers and of a squadron of ships.^[6][7]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides use it of battle order and of a soldier's post in the line.^[6]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of order as opposed to disorder, and Lysias of a tribe's infantry contingent at Athens.^[6]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of the arrangement of a speech and of a state's constitution.^[6]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it of the rota of priestly service and of good order.^[9]
• 2nd century AD – Arrian uses it of a unit of 128 men.^[6]
• 4th century AD – Libanius uses it of membership of the palace militia.^[6]
• Modern Greek – The learned τάξη (táxi) means “order” and also “class”.^[11][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (military) The drawing up of troops; battle order, formation.^[6][7]
2. (military) A rank or line of soldiers.^[6][7]
3. (military) A body of troops, company; at Athens, a tribe's infantry contingent; of ships, a squadron; generally, a band.^[6][7]
4. (military) A soldier's post or station in the line.^[6][7]
5. Arrangement, order; in rhetoric, the arrangement of a speech.^[6]
6. Good order, regularity.^[6][9]
7. An ordinance, a prescription; an assessment of tribute.^[6]
8. A political order, constitution.^[6]
9. (figurative) A rank or position in life.^[6][7][9]
10. (late) A unit of 128 men; membership of the palace militia.^[6]
11. (New Testament) A fixed succession, as of priestly service.^[9]

Word family

• ἀντίταξις (antítaxis)
• ἀπόταξις (apótaxis)
• διάταξις (diátaxis)
• ἐπίταξις (epítaxis)
• παράταξις (parátaxis)
• πρόσταξις (próstaxis)
• σύνταξις (súntaxis)
• ταξίαρχος (taxíarkhos)

Related words

• τάσσω (tássō)
• τάγμα (tágma)
• τακτικός (taktikós)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Βασικό Λεξικό της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής, Portal for the Greek Language, https://www.greek-language.gr
3. ^ a b c d e f Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c d 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
5. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c d e 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
10. ^ Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
11. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki