ἄρθρον

Forms

ᾰ̓́ρθρον (árthron) n (genitive ᾰ̓́ρθρου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-dʰrom, formed from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit”) with the instrument suffix *-dʰrom, so “fitting”.^[2][1][3] Within Greek it belongs to the family of ἀραρίσκω (ararískō, “to fit together”), and Wiktionary analyses it as that verb's root with the suffix -θρον (-thron).^[2][1][4]

Ancient grammarians offered other derivations: Orion took it from αἴρω (aírō, “to lift”), “for we are lifted by them”, or from a verb meaning “to fit”, and the commentators on Dionysius Thrax explained the grammatical “article” as the word that fits onto nouns, participles and pronouns.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 5th century BC: Empedocles uses it of a joint of the body, Herodotus of the socket of the ankle-joint, and the Hippocratic writers speak of “pains of the joints”.^[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

In tragedy the plural is used of the limbs in general: Sophocles has it for the ankles and Euripides for the legs.^[4][6] Hippocratic surgery distinguishes the ball of a joint from its socket, and Herodotus uses the plural of the genitals of a mare.^[4][6] Plato uses it figuratively of the joints between classes or topics, and Polybius, quoting a comic poet, calls sobriety and scepticism the joints of the mind.^[6]

Aristotle made it a grammatical term: in the Poetics it is a connecting word, and in the Rhetoric to Alexander the article.^[4][6] The Stoic Chrysippus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus use it for the article.^[4] Derivatives include ἀρθρῖτις (arthrîtis, “gout”) and ἀρθρόω (arthróō, “to articulate”) in the Hippocratic writers.^[2]

Modern Greek άρθρο (árthro) is a learned borrowing of the ancient word: it keeps the grammatical article and the joint, while the senses “newspaper article” and “article of a law” are semantic loans from French article.^[7] The English combining form arthro- comes from it.^[8]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Empedocles uses it for a joint of the body.^[4][3]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for the socket of the ankle-joint, and the Hippocratic writers for joints.^[4][2][3]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles and Euripides use the plural for the limbs.^[4][6][3]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of the divisions between classes or topics.^[6][3]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it in grammar for a connecting word and for the article.^[4][6][3]
• 3rd century BC – The Stoic Chrysippus uses it for the article.^[4][3]
• Modern Greek – άρθρο means an article (grammatical, of a newspaper, of a law) and a joint.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A joint of the body; the socket of the ankle-joint; the ball of a joint.^[4][6]
2. (chiefly plural) A limb, especially a leg or arm.^[6][4]
3. (plural) The genitals.^[6]
4. (figurative) A division or joint between classes or topics.^[6]
5. (grammar) A connecting word; the article.^[4][6]

Word family

• ἀρθρῖτις (arthrîtis)
• ἀρθριτικός (arthritikós)
• ἀρθρώδης (arthrṓdēs)
• ἀρθρόω (arthróō)
• ἄρθρωσις (árthrōsis)

Related words

• ἀραρίσκω (ararískō)
• English arthritis

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c d e f g h Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
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. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com