τέρμα

Pronunciation

• 5th-century BC Attic: /tér.ma/^[1]
• 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈter.ma/^[1]
• 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈter.ma/^[1]

Forms

τέρμᾰ (térma) n (genitive τέρμᾰτος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥,^[1] an n-stem noun from *terh₂- (“to cross over”).^[2] The n-stem of τέρμα and τέρμων (térmōn, “boundary”) corresponds to that of Latin termen (“boundary stone”) and termō; terminus and Umbrian termnome (“to the boundary”) add a thematic suffix.^[2][1] The verb itself survives in Sanskrit तरति (tárati, “crosses over”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is the turning post of the chariot race, round which the horses had to wheel and which a driver should keep close to (23.309, 23.466).^[3][4] In the Odyssey it is the mark that showed how far a discus had been thrown, set by Athena (8.193).^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It remained mostly a poetic word.^[3][2] From the turning post it came to mean the finishing line of a race (Xenophon, Polybius), and then any end that is reached or sought, the goal of a journey or of one's efforts.^[5] With “of life” or “of death” it is the end of life (Tyrtaeus, Euripides), and in Aeschylus it is the outcome of events.^[5][3] In the plural it means the limits or borders of a land, as in Herodotus' “the end of Europe”.^[5][6] Hesychius glosses it as a sign, the end of life, the turning post and the extreme point.^[7]

In Modern Greek, τέρμα (térma) is a learned word for the end of something, as the terminus of a bus route, and in football for the goal, a sense taken from English goal.^[8]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for the turning post in a chariot race.^[3][4]
• 7th century BC – Tyrtaeus speaks of the end of death.^[5][9]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the plural for the borders of a land.^[5][6][9]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for the finishing line of a race.^[5][9]
• Modern Greek – It survives as a learned word, also “goal” in football.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The turning-point in a racecourse.^[5][3][4]
2. The end of a race, the finish.^[5]
3. The mark showing how far a discus was thrown.^[3][4]
4. An end that is reached or sought, a goal; the end of life.^[5]
5. The issue, outcome of events.^[3]
6. (plural) The limits, borders of a land; the edge of a garment.^[5][6]
7. A limit, as to wealth or boldness.^[5]

Word family

• ἀτέρμων (atérmōn)
• τερμιόεις (termióeis)
• τέρμιος (térmios)
• τερμόνιος (termónios)
• τέρμων (térmōn)
• τερμοδρομέω (termodroméō)
• τερμοσύνη (termosúnē)

Related words

• Latin terminus
• Latin termen

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c 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
7. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge