ἅγιος

Forms

ᾰ̔́γῐος (hágios) m (feminine ᾰ̔γῐ́ᾱ, neuter ᾰ̔́γῐον); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *hágiyos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁yáǵ-yo-s, from *h₁yaǵ- (“to sacrifice, worship”).^[1] Beekes accepts the comparison with Sanskrit यजति (yájati, “honours with sacrifice and prayer”), which he finds unobjectionable in meaning; by Lubotsky's rule the root can be set up as Proto-Indo-European *Hieh₂ǵ-, whose glottal element was lost before a consonant, so that an /a/ vowel need not be assumed for the root, as the LIV and others do.^[2][3] He takes ἅγιος as the primary noun with the suffix *-iHo-.^[2]

The same root, with another suffix, is in ἁγνός (hagnós, “pure, chaste”), and in ἅζομαι (házomai, “to stand in awe of”).^[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

BDAG cites a fragment of the tragedian Thespis that speaks of holy altars; otherwise the word is found from the 5th century BC as a cultic term in Ionic and Attic.^[6] Herodotus calls a sanctuary of Aphrodite and one of Heracles ἅγιον, “holy”.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it describes places, rites and objects that belong to the gods: temples, sacrifices, oaths, and the mysteries.^[3][6] It is rare in Attic and is never used by Homer, Hesiod or the tragedians, who say ἁγνός (hagnós) instead.^[3] Plato calls one's fatherland more hallowed than one's mother, and Aristophanes uses it of birds treated as gods.^[3][4] Cratinus has it once in a bad sense, “accursed”.^[3]

In the Septuagint Israel is a people holy to the Lord, and τὸ ἅγιον is the sanctuary, τὸ ἅγιον τῶν ἁγίων the Holy of Holies.^[3][6] In the New Testament it is used of God, of the Holy Spirit (πνεῦμα ἅγιον) and, as a noun, of Christians, “the saints”.^[3][4][6]

In post-classical and medieval Greek ἅγιος was also a noun for a saint.^[7][8] It continues as Modern Greek άγιος (ágios), with synizesis to avoid the hiatus, in the senses “saint” and “holy”, and as a learned word in the old sense “sacred”.^[9][5] The English prefix hagio- comes from it.^[8]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus calls sanctuaries of Aphrodite and Heracles holy.^[3][10]
• 5th century BC – Cratinus uses it in the bad sense “accursed”.^[3][10]
• 5th–4th century BC – Isocrates and Plato apply it to sacrifices, contracts and the fatherland.^[3][4][10]
• Hellenistic period – The Septuagint uses it for the holy people and the sanctuary.^[3][6]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament speaks of the Holy Spirit and calls Christians “the saints”.^[3][6]
• Medieval Greek – άγιος is used as a noun for a saint.^[7]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek άγιος (ágios) means “saint” and “holy”.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of places, objects and rites: holy, sacred, dedicated to the gods.^[3][4]
2. Of the homeland or of legal matters: hallowed, revered, solemn.^[4]
3. Of persons: holy, pure.^[3]
4. (rare) In a bad sense: accursed.^[3]
5. (Septuagint, New Testament) Holy as belonging to God: of God, of Jesus, of the Spirit, of the people of God and of things devoted to Him.^[4][6]

Noun

1. τὸ ἅγιον: the sanctuary;^[3] τὸ ἅγιον τῶν ἁγίων, the Holy of Holies.^[3]
2. οἱ ἅγιοι: the saints, the Christians.^[3][6]

Word family

• ἁγιάζω (hagiázō)
• ἁγίζω (hagízō)
• ἁγιστεία (hagisteía)
• ἁγιστεύω (hagisteúō)
• ἁγιστύς (hagistús)
• ἁγίως (hagíōs)
• ἐξάγιστος (exágistos)
• καθαγίζω (kathagízō)
• ἁγιασμός (hagiasmós)
• ἅγιον (hágion)
• ἁγιότης (hagiótēs)
• ἁγιώδως (hagiṓdōs)
• ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsúnē)
• ἡγιασμένως (hēgiasménōs)

Related words

• ἁγής (hagḗs)
• ἁγνός (hagnós)
• ἅζομαι (házomai)
• English hagio-

Usage notes

In Classical Greek ἁγνός (hagnós), not ἅγιος, is the poetic word: LSJ notes that ἅγιος is never found in Homer, Hesiod or tragedy and is rare in Attic.^[3] BDAG explains it as the quality of things and persons that may approach a divinity.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge