τέλος

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /té.los/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈte.los/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈte.los/^[1]

Forms

τέλος (télos) n (genitive τέλους or τέλεος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kʷélos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kʷél-os.^[1] Frisk thought its senses have separate origins, which had already merged before the literary period.^[2][1]

• In the sense “end, goal” it may be a “turning point” of the racecourse or the ploughed field, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to turn, revolve”), belonging with πέλομαι (pélomai) and τέλομαι (télomai); the wide range of this root, as in Latin colō (“to till, inhabit”) and Sanskrit चरति (cárati, “moves, performs”), allows other paths too.^[2][1]
• In the sense “tax” it fits τλῆναι (tlênai, “to bear”) and τελαμών (telamṓn), from Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (“to bear”), as φόρος (phóros, “tribute”) goes with φέρω (phérō).^[2][1]
• In the sense “troop” it has been compared with Sanskrit कुल (kúla, “family, herd”) and Old Church Slavonic челѧдь (čeljadĭ, “household”).^[2]

The Πάπυρος dictionary calls the etymology uncertain.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it is the fulfilment of a prayer or a hope (Odyssey 17.496), the completion of an action, and the end: in the Iliad no end of the war has yet appeared (2.122).^[4][5][6] The Iliad also uses it for a division of troops.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Classical Greek used it for the power of decision of gods and officials, for validity, completion and maturity, the end of life, and the outcome of an action.^[4] For Aristotle and the philosophers it was the aim or final cause.^[1] It also named the offices of state and initiation into the mysteries.^[7] In Ionic and Attic it is a duty, tax or toll, and the τελώνης (telṓnēs) was the tax-collector.^[7]

Modern Greek τέλος “end” continues the ancient word, while τέλος “tax, duty” is learned.^[8] English teleology was coined in Modern Latin in 1728, and telos is recorded from 1904.^[9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for fulfilment, end and a troop.^[4][7]
• 6th century BC – Solon uses it for an outcome.^[4][10]
• Classical – Ionic and Attic use it for a tax.^[7]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for the final cause.^[1][10]
• 1728 – Modern Latin teleologia is coined from it.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Fulfilment, accomplishment; the outcome, result.^[4][5]
2. Completion; maturity; perfection.^[4][1]
3. The end; the end of life, death.^[1][4]
4. An aim, purpose;^[1] (philosophy) the final cause.^[1]
5. Power of decision; an office, magistracy.^[4][7]
6. Initiation into the mysteries.^[7]
7. A tax, duty, toll; cost.^[7][4]
8. A division of an army, a troop; a squadron.^[7]

Word family

• ἀκροτελεύτιον (akroteleútion)
• ἀτέλεια (atéleia)
• ἀτελής (atelḗs)
• αὐτοτελής (autotelḗs)
• δημοτελής (dēmotelḗs)
• διατελής (diatelḗs)
• ἐκτελής (ektelḗs)
• ἐντελής (entelḗs)
• ἐπιτελής (epitelḗs)
• εὐτελής (eutelḗs)
• ἡμιτελής (hēmitelḗs)
• ἰσοτελής (isotelḗs)
• νεοτελής (neotelḗs)
• παντελής (pantelḗs)

Related words

• κύκλος (kúklos)
• πάλαι (pálai)
• πάλιν (pálin)
• πέλω (pélō)
• πόλος (pólos)
• τέλλω (téllō)
• τῆλε (têle)
• English telos

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
3. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge