ἀνταγωνίζομαι

Forms

ἀντᾰγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai) ^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀντι- (anti-, “against”) + ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai, “to contend for a prize”),^[1][2][3] and the verb comes from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Herodotus and Thucydides use it in the 5th century BC of fighting against an enemy in war, Herodotus of fighting the Phoenicians.^[4][5] The Hippocratic Prognostic already uses it figuratively, of a doctor contending with each disease.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

From warfare it spread to any rivalry: Thucydides uses it of contending with speakers in debate, Andocides and Aristotle of competing for prizes or money, and Xenophon of the opposing parties in a lawsuit.^[4][5][6] Plutarch uses it of an actor who plays a part in rivalry with another.^[4][5] In the New Testament the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of struggling against sin.^[2][5] The nouns ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs) “rival, opponent” and Modern Greek ανταγωνισμός (antagonismós) belong to it.^[3]

English antagonize (1630s, “to compete with”) is taken from it.^[7] Modern Greek ανταγωνίζομαι (antagonízomai) is a learned continuation; its sense of commercial competition follows English compete.^[8][3]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus and Thucydides use it of fighting an enemy.^[4][5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Andocides and Xenophon use it of rivalry for prizes and in lawsuits.^[4][6]
• 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it of struggling against an opponent's schemes.^[4][6]
• 1st century AD – The Letter to the Hebrews speaks of struggling against sin.^[2][5]
• 2nd century AD – Marcus Aurelius uses it in logic of a hypothesis that is in conflict with itself.^[5]
• 1630s – English borrows it as antagonize.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To struggle or fight against, prove a match for, especially in war (with the dative or πρός and the accusative).^[4][6][5]
2. To compete, vie with someone; to contend for a prize or about money; of the parties in a lawsuit, to be opposed.^[4][6][5]
3. (theatre) To act a part in rivalry with another actor.^[4][5]
4. (passive) To be set against something.^[4]
5. (logic) To be contradictory.^[5]

Word family

• ἀνταγωνιστέω (antagōnistéō)
• ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs)

Related words

• ἀγών (agṓn)
• English antagonize
• English antagonist

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
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 e f g h i j k l 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 Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki