ἐκεῖ

Forms

ἐκεῖ (ekeî), adverb^[1] Ionic κεῖ (keî), Aeolic κῆ (kê), Doric τηνεῖ (tēneî).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

In Chantraine's and Frisk's view it is an old locative case form built on a demonstrative particle, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe (“this, here”), with a second particle ἐ- (e-) prefixed, as also in ἐχθές (ekhthés).^[5][6] The particle *ḱe is also found in Latin cĕdo (“give here”), hic (“this”) and cis (“on this side”), and with pronominal inflection in Hittite ki (“this”) and Lithuanian šis (“this”).^[5][6][4] It first pointed to what is near, and Greek made it a stem for what is far away under the influence of the pronoun ἐκεῖνος (ekeînos).^[5][6] The Aeolic form κῆ (kê) is an old instrumental.^[5]

Brugmann and Schwyzer considered instead that the adverb was formed back from the pronoun, on the model of Doric τῆνος (tênos) beside τεῖδε (teîde), and Wiktionary follows this view.^[6][1] Chantraine finds that assumption unnecessary.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer does not use it: his word is the longer κεῖθι (keîthi).^[2][5] The first records are Sappho's Aeolic κῆ (kê), of a bowl of ambrosia mixed “there”, and Aeschylus' Persians, where a man is said to have perished there.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it is the ordinary adverb for “there”, often set against ἐνθάδε (entháde) “here”; with the article it means what is or happens in that place.^[2][3] With verbs of motion it can stand for ἐκεῖσε (ekeîse), “thither”, from Herodotus on, and rarely it refers to time, “then”.^[2][3]

“There” was a common euphemism for the world of the dead: in tragedy, Aristophanes and Plato, “there” means in Hades, and “those there” are the dead.^[2][3] Plotinus turned it into a philosophical term for the intelligible world.^[2]

The Septuagint uses it mostly for Hebrew Biblical Hebrew שָׁם (šām), and the New Testament uses it constantly for “there” and “thither”.^[8][9][10] Medieval vernacular Greek has εκεί (ekeí) beside εκειά (ekeiá) and the short κει (kei), forms that dialects still use.^[11] The word survives as Modern Greek εκεί (ekeí).^[12][13]

Timeline

• 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses the Aeolic form κῆ (kê) for “there”.^[4][2]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of the world of the dead, where another Zeus judges wrongs.^[2][3]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it with verbs of motion for “thither”, and Thucydides sets it against “here”.^[2][3]
• 3rd century AD – Plotinus uses it of the intelligible world.^[2]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular Greek has εκεί (ekeí), εκειά (ekeiá) and κει (kei).^[11]
• Modern Greek – It survives as εκεί (ekeí).^[12][13]

Meanings

Adverb

1. In that place, there, as opposed to “here”; with the article, what is or happens there.^[2][3]
2. (euphemistic) In the world of the dead, in Hades; with the article, the dead.^[2][3]
3. (philosophy) In the intelligible world.^[2]
4. With verbs of motion: to that place, thither.^[2][3]
5. Rarely, of time: then.^[2]

Word family

• ἐκεῖσε (ekeîse)
• ἐκεῖθεν (ekeîthen)
• ἐκεῖθι (ekeîthi)

Related words

• ἐκεῖνος (ekeînos)
• ἐχθές (ekhthés)
• Latin hic

Usage notes

Ammonius distinguishes it from ἐκεῖσε (ekeîse): ἐκεῖ marks the place where one is, ἐκεῖσε the place one goes to.^[14] The Lexica Segueriana make the same distinction and add that ἐκεῖ is also used of time.^[15]

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 e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b c d e f 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
9. ^ 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. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
11. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
13. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
14. ^ [Ammonius], De adfinium vocabulorum differentia, ed. K. Nickau (Leipzig: Teubner, 1966)
15. ^ Lexica Segueriana, in Immanuel Bekker, ed. (1814), Anecdota Graeca I, Berlin: Nauck