ἄρχων

Forms

ᾰ̓́ρχων (árkhōn) m (genitive ᾰ̓́ρχοντος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun use of the present participle from Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō, “to be first, to rule”).^[1][2][3] The further origin of the verb is uncertain.^[4] Beekes reports Klingenschmitt's derivation from a present Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥-sḱé- (“to be first”).^[4]

The Etymologicum Magnum calls it a participle turned into a noun, and derives the verb from αἴρω (aírō, “to raise”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first records are in Aeschylus' Persians, where it means the ruler of Asia.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it meant any ruler or commander, from a king to a ship's captain or an army officer.^[2][7][8] It was also the general term for the holders of public office, and in many states the title of the highest magistracy.^[9][10] At Athens there were nine archons, and the year was named after the first of them, the eponymous archon; the same title was used in Boeotia, at Delphi, on Delos and elsewhere.^[2][11][10]

Greek writers on Rome used it for a Latin consul or a praefectus, and for a provincial governor.^[2][7] In the Septuagint and the New Testament it is a ruler or leader, also of a synagogue, and “the ruler of this world” or of the demons is Satan.^[3][2][12] It passed into Latin archon and into Coptic ⲁⲣⲭⲱⲛ (arkhōn), the Coptic form first recorded about AD 200.^[13][14]

Medieval vernacular Greek used it for a ruler, a leader and a nobleman.^[15] Modern Greek has άρχοντας (árchontas), a medieval form made from the accusative, for a holder of high office or a notable, while the learned participle survives in the phrase for the “ruling class”.^[16][17]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of the ruler of Asia.^[2][6]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of a ship's captain, and Thucydides of the chief magistrate at Athens.^[2][7]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians names the eponymous archon, after whom the year was named.^[2][9]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for a Roman consul.^[2][7]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of John calls Satan “the ruler of this world”.^[2][3]
• About AD 200 – The earliest Coptic manuscript with the loanword ⲁⲣⲭⲱⲛ (arkhōn) dates from this time.^[14]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek uses άρχοντας (árchontas) for a ruler, a leader and a nobleman.^[15]
• Modern Greek – άρχοντας (árchontas) means a holder of high office.^[16][17]

Meanings

Noun

1. A ruler, lord, king.^[2][7]
2. A commander; the captain of a ship; an army officer.^[2][7][8]
3. A magistrate, official; at Athens, each of the nine archons, the first of whom gave his name to the year.^[2][7]
4. A governor of a dependency or province; in writers on Rome, a consul or prefect.^[2][7]
5. (New Testament) The leader of a synagogue; the ruler of the evil spirits, Satan.^[3][7]

Related words

• ἀρχός (arkhós)
• ἄρχω (árkhō)
• ἀρχή (arkhḗ)
• Latin archon

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d 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
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Gaisford, Thomas, ed. (1848), Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
9. ^ a b Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b Smith, William; Wayte, William; Marindin, G. E., eds. (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 3rd ed., London: John Murray
11. ^ Photius, Lexicon, ed. Christos Theodoridis, vol. 1 (Α–Δ) (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1982); ed. Richard Porson (Cambridge, 1822)
12. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
13. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
14. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
15. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
16. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
17. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας