ἀτελής

Forms

ἀτελής (atelḗs) m or f (neuter ἀτελές); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) + τέλος (télos, “end; tax”) + -ής (-ḗs), “without end” or “without tax”.^[1][2][3] The groups of senses follow those of the noun, which meant “end, fulfilment”, “due, tax” and “rite of initiation”.^[4][5] Beekes traces the senses “end” and “tax” to separate sources that merged in the noun.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest example is in the Odyssey, where Penelope wishes that death would not stay unfulfilled for the suitors.^[4][6][2] The Homeric Hymn to Demeter has it with the genitive, of someone not initiated into the rites.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Classical Greek used it in three directions.^[4] From “end” came “unaccomplished, unfinished”, as of a victory left incomplete in Thucydides or of an unfinished building, and “imperfect”, as of growth, and Aristotle called minors “incomplete citizens”, spoke of an imperfect syllogism, and said that nature always seeks an end.^[4][6] Pindar used it actively, “ineffectual, achieving nothing”.^[4][7] From “tax” came “free from tax or tribute”, as in Herodotus and the orators, “untaxed” of goods and “net” of sums of money.^[4][7] From the sense “rite” came “uninitiated”.^[4]

The Septuagint uses it of unripe fruit and, in Third Maccabees, of something left without effect.^[8] Medieval Greek kept it, with the neuter used as a noun for immaturity.^[9] Modern Greek has two learned words from it: ατελής (atelís) “incomplete, imperfect”, also in mathematics for a division that leaves a remainder, and a second ατελής “exempt from duties or taxes”.^[10][3]

Timeline

• 700s BC – The Odyssey uses it of a death left unfulfilled.^[4][2][11]
• 6th century BC – The Homeric Hymn to Demeter uses it of someone uninitiated.^[4][11]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it of an ineffectual mind and of unripe wisdom.^[4][6]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of people free from tax, and Thucydides of a victory left incomplete.^[4][3]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of imperfect beings, of minors and of an imperfect syllogism, and Demosthenes of goods exported tax-free.^[4]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek keeps it, using the neuter for immaturity.^[9]
• Modern Greek – Learned ατελής (atelís) means both “incomplete” and “tax-exempt”.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not brought to an end, unaccomplished.^[4][7][6]
2. Incomplete, unfinished; imperfect, not full-grown.^[4][6]
3. Never-ending; indeterminate.^[4]
4. (active) Not accomplishing one's purpose, ineffectual.^[4][7]
5. Free from tax or tribute; of goods, untaxed; of sums, net, without deduction.^[4][7]
6. Not costly.^[4]
7. Uninitiated, with the genitive of the rites.^[4][6]

Word family

• ἀτέλεια (atéleia)

Related words

• τέλειος (téleios)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
3. ^ a b c 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 l m n o p q r s t Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 c d e f Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux