ἐνθουσιασμός

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /en.tʰuː.si.az.mós/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /en.θu.si.azˈmos/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /en.θu.si.azˈmos/^[1]

Forms

ἐνθουσῐᾰσμός (enthousiasmós) m (genitive ἐνθουσῐᾰσμοῦ); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is derived from ἐνθουσιάζω (enthousiázō, “to be inspired, possessed by a god”) with the suffix -μός (-mós).^[1][2] The verb comes from ἔνθεος (éntheos, “having a god within”), formed from ἐν (en, “in”) and θεός (theós, “god”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Democritus says that whatever a poet writes “with enthousiasmos and holy spirit” is very fine.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

For Plato it was divine possession or inspiration, as of the diviner whose understanding is changed by illness or by some inspiration.^[3][5] Aristotle describes it as an emotion of the soul produced by certain kinds of music.^[4][5] Diodorus uses it for the frenzy of the Pythia at Delphi, Strabo says it seems to involve a divine breath close to prophecy, and Plotinus and Iamblichus use it for inspired divination.^[3] Polybius and Plutarch use it more loosely for a sudden transport of feeling and passionate enthusiasm.^[5]

English enthusiasm came from French and Late Latin about 1600; under the Puritans it took on the derogatory sense of excessive religious emotion.^[2] Modern Greek ενθουσιασμός (enthousiasmós) is a learned word, partly modelled on French enthousiasme.^[6]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Democritus uses it for poetic inspiration.^[3][4]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for divine possession.^[3][5]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for rapture produced by music.^[4][5]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for passionate enthusiasm.^[5]
• 3rd century AD – Plotinus uses it for inspired divination.^[3]
• c. 1600 – English borrows enthusiasm.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Divine possession, inspiration.^[5][4]
2. Rapture, frenzy, as produced by music.^[5][4]
3. A sudden transport of emotion; passionate enthusiasm.^[5]

Related words

• ἐνθουσιάζω (enthousiázō)
• ἔνθεος (éntheos)
• θεός (theós)
• English enthusiasm

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f 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 Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki