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φιλέω

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Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word φιλέω

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
700s BC Homer, Iliad
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek φίλος
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek φίλος
Ancient Greek φιλέω
From the same root
Ancient Greek φιλόσοφος ← φίλος

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /pʰi.lé.ɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ɸiˈle.o/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /fiˈle.o/[1]

Forms

φῐλέω (philéō) [1] Aeolic φίλημμι (Sappho), future φιλήσω, aorist ἐφίλησα, perfect πεφίληκα, Epic middle aorist ἐφῑλάμην, passive aorist ἐφιλήθην.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos, “dear, one's own”) + -έω (-éō).[1][4][5] The Epic middle aorist ἐφίλατο (ephílato) is probably modelled on the present, so no separate present needs to be assumed.[4] The origin of φίλος (phílos) itself is unknown: Beekes thinks its first sense was “one's own” rather than “beloved”, rejects the old comparison with a Celtic and Germanic adjective for “fitting, good”, and mentions the view that it is derived from the reflexive pronoun σφι (sphi).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it means to hold dear, love or favour: Hera cares for both Achilles and Agamemnon, and gods favour the men they protect.[5][6][2]

Semantic evolution

In Homer it covers the love of family and friends, the favour of the gods and the welcome a host gives a guest, as well as sexual love.[3][5] The sense “to kiss” is post-Homeric: Hipponax, Theognis and Herodotus have it, and it was often expressed by the compound καταφιλέω (kataphiléō).[4][3] With an infinitive it meant to like to do something and then to be wont to do it, as in Hesiod and Herodotus.[4][3]

In the Koine it gradually lost ground to ἀγαπάω (agapáō) as the general word for “to love”.[7] The sense “to kiss” prevailed: Modern Greek φιλώ (filó) means “to kiss”, while its original sense was “to love”.[8][9]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses it for the love of gods, kin and friends and for hospitality.[5][3][6]
  • Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it with an infinitive, “to like to do”.[3][10]
  • 6th century BC – Hipponax and Theognis use it for “to kiss”.[3][10]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for kissing and, with an infinitive, for what is customary.[3][10]
  • 1st century AD – In the Koine it is losing ground to ἀγαπάω (agapáō), though the New Testament still uses it for affection and for kissing.[7]
  • Modern Greek – φιλώ (filó) means “to kiss”.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To love, hold dear, feel affection for (a child, friend, master, one's city); of gods, to favour.[3][2]
  2. To value, prize, take care of (oneself, one's life).[3]
  3. To be a friend to; to treat kindly.[3][4]
  4. To welcome, show hospitality to a guest.[3][5]
  5. To love romantically or sexually.[3]
  6. To kiss; in the middle, to kiss one another.[3][2]
  7. To approve of, admire, delight in (dance, song, peace, justice).[3]
  8. With an infinitive or participle, to like doing; to be wont or prone to do.[3][4]

Word family

  • ἀντιφιλέω (antiphiléō)
  • καταφιλέω (kataphiléō)
  • συμφιλέω (sumphiléō)
  • ὑπερφιλέω (huperphiléō)
  • φίλημα (phílēma)
  • φίλησις (phílēsis)
  • φιλητός (philētós)
  • φιλήτωρ (philḗtōr)
  • ἐκφιλέω (ekphiléō)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  9. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
  10. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
Cite this entry

“Φιλέω.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%CF%86%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%AD%CF%89. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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