τέκμαρ

Forms

τέκμᾰρ (tékmar) n (indeclinable)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kʷékmər, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷéḱ-mr̥,^[1] a noun of the root of seeing.^[2] Chantraine, after Benveniste, sees in τέκμαρ and Homeric τέκμωρ (tékmōr) archaic forms with an alternating suffix *-mr/-mn-.^[3]

It is connected with Sanskrit चष्टे (cáṣṭe, “sees”), Sanskrit चक्षुस् (cákṣus, “eye”) and Avestan cašman- (“eye”), the last also with a suffix in -m-.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer always has the form τέκμωρ, meaning a fixed goal or end: a god “reaches the goal”, a hero “finds an end” of a difficulty, and in the first book of the Iliad Zeus' nod is the sure sign of his word.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The word is poetic and indeclinable.^[4][2] In Hesiod it is a line separating the cowardly from the brave, in Pindar the end of life or a purpose.^[4][3] From “mark” it came to mean a sign sent by the gods and then a sign in general, in Pindar, Aeschylus, Euripides and Apollonius of Rhodes,^[3][5] including a track, a proof of a statement and a landmark for sailors.^[5] Aristotle notes that it meant “end” in the old language.^[4] The Hippocratic writers used it for a medical symptom.^[2] Its derivatives became more common than the word itself: τεκμαίρομαι (tekmaíromai, “to determine; to infer from signs”) and τεκμήριον (tekmḗrion, “sure sign, proof”).^[2]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use τέκμωρ (tékmōr) for a goal, an end and a sign.^[4][5]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses τέκμαρ for a dividing line.^[4][7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for the end of life and for a sign from Zeus.^[4][5][7]
• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writers use it for a symptom.^[2][7]
• 3rd century BC – Apollonius of Rhodes uses it for a sign or indication.^[5][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fixed mark setting an end; a goal, a limit set by fate.^[5][4]
2. An end to a difficulty, a solution; a purpose.^[5][4]
3. A line of separation.^[4]
4. A sign or token, especially one given by a god.^[5][3]
5. A distinguishing mark: a landmark, a track; a proof.^[5]
6. (medicine) A symptom.^[2]

Word family

• τεκμαίρομαι (tekmaíromai)

Related words

• τεκμήριον (tekmḗrion)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
3. ^ a b c d Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge