Etymologically
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τέλος

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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)
  • 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