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ἐπιβαίνω

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Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word ἐπιβαίνω

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
700s BC Homer, Iliad More words from the 8th century BC
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek βαίνω
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek βαίνω (baínō)
Ancient Greek ἐπιβαίνω (epibaínō)
From the same root
Ancient Greek διαβαίνω (diabaínō) ← βαίνω
Ancient Greek ἐμβαίνω (embaínō) ← βαίνω
Ancient Greek συμβεβηκός (sumbebēkós) ← βαίνω

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /e.pi.bǎi̯.nɔː/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /e.piˈβɛ.no/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /e.piˈve.no/[1]

Forms

ἐπῐβαίνω (epibaínō) [1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἐπι- (epi-, “upon”) + βαίνω (baínō, “to go, step”).[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it with the genitive for setting foot on something: on towers and walls, on a chariot or a ship, on the shore of a land.[3][4] It is also causative there, to put someone on a chariot or ship.[4]

Semantic evolution

Its literal uses are to mount a horse or chariot, to board a ship and to step on something.[4] Already in the Odyssey it is figurative: the suitors “trod the path of shamelessness”, and two others are to “enter upon” joy.[5][4] From Herodotus on, with a hostile sense, it meant to invade a land.[4] Plato uses it for reaching an age.[4]

In the New Testament the perfect participle describes a king mounted on a donkey, and the verb is used for embarking.[4][6] Modern Greek Επιβαίνω (epivaíno) survives in Modern Greek as a learned word for travelling in a vehicle or ship, a passenger being on board.[2][7]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses it for mounting a chariot and boarding a ship.[3][4]
  • Homer – The Odyssey uses it figuratively for entering on shamelessness or joy.[5][4]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for invading a land.[4]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for reaching an age.[4]
  • 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for embarking.[6][4]
  • Modern Greek – επιβαίνω (epivaíno) means to travel on board a vehicle or ship.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To set foot on land, arrive in a country.[4]
  2. To mount a chariot, wagon or horse.[4][3]
  3. To go on board, embark.[4][3]
  4. To step on or climb walls, ramparts or a tree.[4][3]
  5. To enter a woman's bed.[4]
  6. To reach an age.[4][5]
  7. (figurative) To enter upon, engage in, or enjoy something.[4][5]
  8. To invade a land; to attack.[4]
  9. (causative, aorist) To put someone on a chariot or ship.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  3. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b 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. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
Cite this entry

“Ἐπιβαίνω.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%E1%BC%90%CF%80%CE%B9%CE%B2%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%BD%CF%89. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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