ἐπείσοδος

Forms

ἐπείσοδος (epeísodos) f (genitive ἐπεισόδου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἐπι- (epi-, “upon, besides”) + εἴσοδος (eísodos, “entrance”), so a coming in on top of something or from outside.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest text with the word is Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus (line 730), where it means a person's arrival or approach: ἡ ἐμὴ ἐπείσοδος, “my coming”.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It is a rare word: the GLAUx corpus has only six examples, one from the 5th century BC and the rest from the Roman period.^[6] Besides the Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles used it in a lost play known from a fragment.^[4]

In later prose it means an entrance from outside, a penetration: Epicurus' On Nature and the Placita of the philosophers use it of something entering a body, Oribasius of cold air coming in, and Philo of godless thoughts that intrude on the mind.^[4][2][5] In the 12th century Tzetzes uses it for ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion), an episode.^[7]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it in the Oedipus at Colonus for an arrival.^[4][6]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Philo writes of the intrusion of godless thoughts.^[4]
• 4th century AD – Oribasius uses it of cold air entering the body.^[4]
• 12th century AD – Tzetzes uses it in the sense of ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion), an episode.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A coming in besides; an arrival, approach.^[4][8][2]
2. Entrance from outside, penetration (of air, of thoughts).^[4][2][5]
3. (Byzantine) The same as ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion), an episode.^[7]

Related words

• εἴσοδος (eísodos)
• ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion)
• ὁδός (hodós)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Malhadas, Daisi; Dezotti, Maria Celeste C.; Neves, Maria Helena de Moura, eds. (2006–2010), Dicionário Grego-Português, São Paulo: Ateliê; digital ed. 3 (2022), UNESP Araraquara
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Дворецкий, И. Х. (1958), Древнегреческо-русский словарь, Moscow: ГИС
6. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
8. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1889), An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press