τέκτων

Forms

τέκτων (téktōn) m (genitive τέκτονος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *téktōn,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tétḱō (“carpenter”), an n-stem built on the reduplicated root *tetḱ- (“to create, fashion with an axe”).^[1][2] It is an old word for carpentry and building, identical with Sanskrit तक्षन् (tákṣan, “carpenter”) and Avestan tašan (“builder, creator”).^[2][3]

Verbs of the same root are Latvian test (“to hew”) and Lithuanian tašýti, and perhaps Hittite takš- (“to devise, produce”); Latin texō (“to weave, build”) may belong here or to *teḱs-.^[2] Greek replaced the old verb with the denominative τεκταίνομαι (tektaínomai).^[2] The CGL relates it to τέχνη (tékhnē).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mycenaean tablets have the plural Mycenaean Greek te-ko-to-ne and the dative plural Mycenaean Greek te-ka-ta-si.^[3][2] In the Iliad it is a worker in wood, a joiner or shipwright, and with a qualifying word another craftsman, such as a worker in horn.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it is above all the carpenter, set against the smith in Plato and Xenophon and the mason in Thucydides; it also named any craftsman, a sculptor in Euripides.^[6] Pindar calls poets and choruses “craftsmen” of songs, and a physician a craftsman of relief from pain; in Aeschylus it is the author of quarrels.^[6][4] Its compound ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn) “master builder” is the source, through Latin and French, of the English word architect.^[7]

In the Gospels Jesus is called “the carpenter” in Mark and “the carpenter's son” in Matthew.^[8] The Septuagint uses it for carpenters and other craftsmen, and with “of iron” for a smith.^[9]

Modern Greek τέκτονας (téktonas) is a learned revival meaning a Freemason, a semantic loan from Italian massone, from French maçon and English mason.^[10][11]

Timeline

• Mycenaean (Linear B) – Tablets record craftsmen as Mycenaean Greek te-ko-to-ne.^[3][2]
• Homer – The Iliad and Odyssey use it of carpenters and shipwrights.^[5][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of poets and of a physician.^[6][4][12]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of the author of quarrels.^[6][4][12]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides distinguishes carpenters from masons.^[6][12]
• New Testament – Mark calls Jesus “the carpenter”.^[8]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek τέκτονας (téktonas) comes to mean a Freemason.^[10][11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A worker in wood: carpenter, joiner, shipwright.^[6][4]
2. Any craftsman: a worker in horn, a sculptor or mason; rarely a metal-worker.^[6][4]
3. A master of an art: a poet, a trainer of athletes, a physician.^[6][4]
4. (figurative) A maker or author, of quarrels or harm.^[6][4]

Word family

• ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn)
• τέκταινα (téktaina)
• τεκταίνομαι (tektaínomai)
• τεκτονικός (tektonikós)
• τεκτοσύνη (tektosúnē)

Related words

• τέχνη (tékhnē)
• Latin texō
• English architect
• English tectonic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 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 Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b 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
9. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b Ακαδημία Αθηνών (2014), Χρηστικό Λεξικό της Νεοελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Academy of Athens
12. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge