ἀγαθός

Forms

ᾰ̓γᾰθός (agathós) m (feminine ᾰ̓γᾰθή, neuter ᾰ̓γᾰθόν); first/second declension^[1] Laconian ἀγασός (agasós) (in Aristophanes) and Cypriot ἀζαθός (azathós).^[2][3] The comparative and superlative are supplied by other stems: ἀμείνων (ameínōn), βελτίων (beltíōn), κρείσσων (kreíssōn); ἄριστος (áristos), βέλτιστος (béltistos), κράτιστος (krátistos).^[3][4]

Etymology

The origin is disputed and uncertain.^[5][6][7] Chantraine notes that the Homeric uses suggest an original sense like “strong, mighty”.^[5] The old comparison with Germanic Gothic 𐌲𐍉𐌸𐍃 (gōþs) and German gut is rejected by Beekes, since those words need a root Proto-Indo-European *gʰedʰ- that does not fit.^[6][5]

Pinault derived the word from Proto-Indo-European *m̥ǵh₂-dʰh₁-ó- (“made great, whose deeds are great”), from the roots of “great” and “do”, comparable to Latin magnificus;^[6][1] Beekes finds the change of meaning difficult and the suffix rare.^[6][1] Others analysed it as the intensive prefix ἀγα- (aga-) with a suffix -θος (-thos).^[5] Hesychius' glosses ἀκαθός (akathós) and χάσιος (khásios), if they are variants of the same word, would point to a non-Greek source;^[6][7][1] Beekes had earlier proposed a European substrate, and suggests it could be Pre-Greek.^[6][7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is common from Homer on.^[8][2] In the Iliad and the Odyssey it means well-born and noble, brave and skilled in war, good at a task (physicians “good” at healing), and, of things, good of their kind or helpful.^[9][2]

Semantic evolution

In Homer and the archaic poets the word is the praise of the nobleman, opposed to κακός (kakós) and δειλός (deilós): high birth, courage and ability go together.^[2][3][10] Theognis uses it in a moral sense alongside the social one, and in Attic the phrase καλὸς κἀγαθός (kalòs kagathós) named the gentleman and, politically, the aristocrats, whence καλοκαγαθία (kalokagathíā).^[2][3] Of persons it could mean loyal to friends and allies (Herodotus, Xenophon); of gods, beneficent (Plato, Menander); and in address ὦ ἀγαθέ was “my good man”, friendly or sarcastic.^[3]

The neuter ἀγαθόν (agathón) became “the good”, a philosophical term in Epicharmus, Plato and Aristotle, and the plural meant goods of fortune, wealth, from Herodotus on.^[2] It is frequent in the New Testament, and late Greek formed a colloquial comparative ἀγαθώτερος (agathṓteros).^[4][11]

It survives as Modern Greek αγαθός (agathós), now mostly “kind, good-natured”.^[12][10] It was borrowed into Coptic as ⲁⲅⲁⲑⲟⲥ (agathos).^[1]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of noble, brave and skilled men and of good things.^[9][2]
• 6th century BC – Theognis gives it a moral sense beside the social one.^[3][2][7]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of loyal allies;^[3][2][7] Aristophanes has the Laconian form ἀγασός (agasós).^[3][2][7]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses the neuter for “the good” and calls the gods good.^[2][3][7]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it more than thirty times.^[4][11]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek αγαθός (agathós) means “kind, good-hearted”.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of persons, good at a role or task, capable, skilled.^[3][9]
2. Well-born, noble; in politics, of the aristocrats.^[2][3][9]
3. Brave, valiant in war.^[2][9]
4. Morally good, upright.^[3][9]
5. Loyal, trustworthy to family, friends or allies.^[3]
6. Of things, words or advice, good, useful, beneficial.^[3][9]
7. Of a god, benevolent; as the title of a deity toasted at the end of a meal.^[3]
8. In address, ὦ ἀγαθέ “my good man”.^[3]

Word family

• ἀγαθόν (agathón)
• ἀγαθῶς (agathôs)
• ἀγαθωσύνη (agathōsúnē)
• ἀγαθοεργός (agathoergós)
• ἀγαθοποιέω (agathopoiéō)
• ἀγαθοειδής (agathoeidḗs)
• καλοκαγαθός (kalokagathós)
• καλοκαγαθία (kalokagathíā)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Heggarty, Paul, et al. (2023), Indo-European Cognate Relationships (IE-CoR), Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, https://iecor.clld.org
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ a b c d e f 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
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
8. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c d e f g Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
10. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki