τέρμων

Forms

τέρμων (térmōn), genitive τέρμονος, masculine.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is an n-stem noun beside τέρμα (térma, “goal, end”), with the suffix of nouns such as στήμων (stḗmōn).^[3][4] Their n-stem corresponds to Latin termen and termō (“boundary stone”), while terminus has a thematic enlargement.^[5][6][7] The basic verb is from Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- (“to cross over, carry across”), continued in Sanskrit.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is in Aeschylus' Suppliants, where it means “end”, and a fragment of Aeschylus uses it for a boundary.^[1][8]

Semantic evolution

It is chiefly a word of tragedy: Euripides uses it for the boundary of a land, often in the plural, for the finishing post of a racecourse, for the edge of a discus and for the end of life.^[1][2] It was a prose word in some dialects, as inscriptions from Sicily and Thermon show, and Strabo and Plutarch use it in prose too.^[1] Plutarch applies it to the Roman god Terminus.^[1] Its derivatives include the verb τερμονίζω (termonízō) “to fix a boundary”, found at Epidaurus.^[3]

Modern Greek τέρμονας (térmonas) is the boundary of a field.^[9]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it for an end and for a boundary.^[1][10]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it for boundaries, the turning post of a race, the edge of a discus and the end of life.^[1][2][10]
• 3rd century BC – An inscription from Thermon uses it in dialect prose.^[1]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Strabo uses it in prose.^[1][10]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for the Roman god Terminus.^[1][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A boundary, limit of a region; often in the plural.^[1][2]
2. The goal or finishing line of a racecourse; the edge of a discus.^[2][1]
3. An end, outcome, of events or of life.^[2][1]
4. The Roman god Terminus.^[1]

Word family

• τερμονίζω (termonízō)
• ἀτέρμων (atérmōn)

Related words

• τέρμα (térma)
• τέρμιος (térmios)
• Latin terminus
• Latin termō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b 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. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
5. ^ a b 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
6. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
8. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
10. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge