ἔγκαυστος

Forms

ἔγκαυστος (énkaustos) m or f (neuter ἔγκαυστον); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is the verbal adjective from Ancient Greek ἐγκαίω (enkaíō, “to burn in; to paint in encaustic”),^[2][3] that is, ἐν- (en-, “in”) with καυστός (kaustós, “burnt”).^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Inscriptions from the Rhodian Peraea (2nd century BC) and Lindos (1st century AD) use it of a portrait painted in encaustic, the technique of colours mixed with wax and fixed by heat.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The neuter, τὸ ἔγκαυστον, was the name of encaustic painting itself, and Latin authors such as Pliny and Martial took it over as Latin encaustus and encaustum.^[5][6][7] In late Greek ἔγκαυστον also named the purple-red ink with which the Roman emperors signed.^[8][3] Through the Late Latin encaustum and Old French enque it gave English ink, which had lost the imperial sense by the time it reached English in the mid-13th century.^[3] English encaustic comes from the related ἐγκαυστικός (enkaustikós).^[3]

Late texts use the adjective for “hot” places and things “to be burnt”, and medieval vernacular Greek had a noun έγκαυστος “burning brand”.^[5][9]

Timeline

• 2nd century BC – An inscription from the Rhodian Peraea mentions an encaustic portrait.^[5]
• 1st century AD – Pliny and Martial use the neuter for encaustic painting, and an inscription from Lindos has the adjective.^[5][6]
• 1st century AD – An alchemical text attributed to Comarius uses the word.^[10]
• Mid-13th century – English takes ink from it through Latin and Old French.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Burnt in; painted in encaustic.^[6][5][8]
2. Hot, warm, of places.^[5]
3. To be burnt.^[5]

Noun

1. τὸ ἔγκαυστον: encaustic painting.^[5][2][8]
2. τὸ ἔγκαυστον: the purple-red ink used by the Roman emperors for their signature.^[8][3]

Word family

• ἐγκαυστικός (enkaustikós)

Related words

• ἐγκαίω (enkaíō)
• καίω (kaíō)
• Latin encaustum
• English ink
• English encaustic

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ a b c d Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
8. ^ a b c d Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
9. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux