ἀγωνίζομαι

Forms

ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai) ^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀγών (agṓn, “contest, gathering”) + -ίζομαι (-ízomai), “to take part in a contest”.^[1][2][3] The noun ἀγών (agṓn) first meant a gathering, especially one to watch games, and comes from ἄγω (ágō, “to lead, drive”).^[2] That verb continues Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (“to drive, lead”).^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first examples are in the 5th century BC: Herodotus uses it of contending for a prize in the public games (2.160) and of armies fighting (1.76).^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

From the athletic games the verb spread to every kind of contest: in the musical and dramatic competitions it was used of the rhapsode, the playwright, the actor and the chorus-leader.^[4][6] In war it meant to fight a battle, and in Attic law to contest a case, to stand trial or to plead.^[6][4] Thucydides, Aristophanes and Plato also use it of contending in argument, and so it came to mean to strive or struggle in general.^[6][5]

The Septuagint has it a few times, in the late books.^[7] In the New Testament Paul uses it of everyone who competes in the games (1 Corinthians 9:25), and Luke of striving (13:24).^[8][9] Coptic borrowed it, in texts from the 8th century AD.^[10]

It survives in Modern Greek as αγωνίζομαι (agonízome), “to struggle, to strive for a goal”, and in the sense of competing as a learned word.^[11][12] Through French agoniser or Medieval Latin, English took agonize in the 1580s.^[13]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of contending in the games and of armies fighting.^[4][5]
• 5th century BC – Euripides and Thucydides use it of fighting and of contending in a lawsuit or an argument.^[6][4][14]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it of an actor performing, and Aristotle of competing poets.^[4][5]
• 1st century AD – Paul uses it of competing in the games and Luke of striving.^[8][9]
• About AD 700 – Sahidic Coptic texts have the borrowed form Coptic ⲁⲕⲱⲛⲓⲍⲉ (akōnize).^[10]
• 1580s – English takes agonize, through French or Medieval Latin.^[13]
• Modern Greek – αγωνίζομαι (agonízome) means to struggle or to compete.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To contend for a prize in the public games, compete; with an accusative of the event.^[4][6]
2. To compete in a musical or dramatic contest; of an actor, to perform.^[4][6]
3. To fight a battle, struggle in war.^[4][6]
4. (law) To contest a case, stand trial, plead.^[6][4]
5. To contend in argument, argue a case.^[6]
6. To strive, struggle, in general and in figurative uses; in the New Testament, of the Christian life.^[6][8]
7. (passive) Of a contest or battle, to be fought.^[4][6]

Word family

• ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs)
• ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai)
• διαγωνίζομαι (diagōnízomai)

Related words

• ἀγών (agṓn)
• ἀγωνία (agōníā)
• ἄγω (ágō)
• English agonize

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
10. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
11. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
12. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
13. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux