Etymologically
Log in

ἄρχω

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 20:20. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /ár.kʰɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈar.xo/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈar.xo/[1]

Forms

ᾰ̓́ρχω (árkhō) [1]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed.[2][1] Klingenschmitt proposed a present Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥-sḱé- (“to be first in order and rank”), and Matzinger supported this, deriving Old Armenian արքայ (arkʻay, “king”) from the same root.[2] Wiktionary notes that the Armenian word is generally thought to be a loan from Greek.[2][1] The LIV, after Tichy, sets up *(h₂)rgʰ-sḱé- from a root *regʰ- (“to straighten up”), comparing Middle High German words for “rise, stir” and Lithuanian regė́ti (“to see, watch”).[3][2] Beekes accepts this only with a root beginning in a laryngeal, since no Indo-European root began with /r/ and the augmented imperfect points that way.[2][3] The DGE thinks of *ser-gʰ- (“to protect”), with a shift of sense to “be first, guide”.[4]

Frisk and Chantraine only compare ὄρχαμος (órkhamos) “leader”.[2][5] Furnée took the /a/ : /o/ variation between the two as a sign of substrate origin, but Beekes finds this unconvincing.[2][5] Chantraine notes that the uncertain etymology does not fix the first meaning, which seems to have been “to go first, take the initiative”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from the Iliad on, in both its senses: “to lead the way, begin”, as of beginning a war or a speech, and “to rule”, as when Agamemnon commands a hundred ships.[2][6][7] In Homer the active is more frequent than the middle.[6]

Semantic evolution

The verb expresses being first, either in time (to begin) or in authority (to rule).[8] In Attic prose the middle prevails for “begin”, especially where a person's own action is stressed, and the active for “rule”, with the genitive of what is ruled.[6][5] Set phrases include “to begin a war”, said of the aggressor, and “to strike the first blow”.[6] In the middle it was also a religious term for making the first offering of a sacrifice.[6][8] Its participle ἄρχων (árkhōn) “ruler” became a noun, continued by Modern Greek άρχοντας, and the noun ἀρχή (arkhḗ) and the many compounds in ⟨-αρχος⟩ and ⟨-αρχία⟩ belong to the same stem.[7][5]

In the New Testament the aorist middle with an infinitive is often a periphrasis for the imperfect, as in “he began to teach”.[8][9] Medieval Greek formed Modern Greek αρχίζω (archízo, “to begin”) from ἀρχή.[10] The Modern Greek άρχω (árcho) is a learned word meaning “to govern”, used only in the present, and οι αρχόμενοι “the governed” is set against the rulers.[10]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses it for leading the way, beginning an action and ruling.[6][11]
  • Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod opens his Theogony with “let us begin”.[12]
  • 5th century BC – Thucydides uses “to begin a war” of the aggressor.[6][4]
  • 5th century BC – Antiphon uses it of striking the first blow.[6][4]
  • 1st century AD – The Gospels use the aorist middle with an infinitive for an action in progress.[9][8]
  • Medieval Greek – The verb αρχίζω “to begin” is formed from ἀρχή.[10]
  • Modern Greek – It survives as a learned verb meaning “govern”.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To begin, make a start; with the genitive, to begin something; in the middle, to begin one's own speech or action.[6][8]
  2. To lead the way, take the lead; to be the first to do something, the instigator.[6][8]
  3. (middle, religion) To make the first offering of a sacrifice.[6][8]
  4. To rule, govern, command, usually with the genitive; to hold office as a magistrate.[6][8][9]
  5. (passive) To be ruled.[6][10]

Word family

  • ἀπάρχομαι (apárkhomai)
  • ἀπάρχω (apárkhō)
  • ἀρίσταρχος (arístarkhos)
  • ἀρχηγός (arkhēgós)
  • ἐνάρχομαι (enárkhomai)
  • ἐξάρχω (exárkhō)
  • ἐπάρχω (epárkhō)
  • ἵππαρχος (hípparkhos)
  • κατάρχω (katárkhō)
  • προσάρχομαι (prosárkhomai)
  • συνάρχω (sunárkhō)
  • ὑπάρχω (hupárkhō)
  • ἄργματα (árgmata)
  • ἀρκτέον (arktéon)
  • ἀρχή (arkhḗ)
  • ἀρχι- (arkhi-)
  • ἀρχικός (arkhikós)
  • ἀρχός (arkhós)
  • ἄρχων (árkhōn)
  • ὄρχαμος (órkhamos)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
  4. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
  5. ^ a b c d e Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b c d e Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  11. ^ Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  12. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux