ἔτι

Forms

ἔτῐ (éti) ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éti (“(and) also”), an old adverb.^[2][3][1] Cognate with Sanskrit अति (áti), Latin et (“and”) and Umbrian et, and Gothic 𐌹𐌸 (iþ, “but, and”).^[2][3] Wiktionary adds Old Church Slavonic отъ (otŭ).^[1] Beekes suggests the PIE form may be the locative singular of a root noun from *h₁et-, meaning “to wander”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, of time and of degree: “still, yet” and “besides, further”.^[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Of the present it means “still, yet”, of the past “even then”, and of the future “longer, hereafter”, often in threats.^[4][5] With a negative it means “no longer”, a use that gave the compounds οὐκέτι (oukéti) and μηκέτι (mēkéti).^[4] Of degree it adds something, “also, besides”, and it strengthens comparatives, “still more”.^[4][5] From Thucydides on, ἔτι δὲ καί introduces a further point, “and furthermore”.^[5]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of time and of degree.^[4][5][6]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles writes “if Zeus is still Zeus”.^[4][5]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides introduces a further point with ἔτι δὲ καί.^[5][7]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (of the present or past) Still, yet; as before.^[5][4]
2. (of the future) Still, any longer; hereafter, some day.^[5][4]
3. Again, once more.^[5]
4. (with a negative) No longer.^[4]
5. (of degree) Also, further, besides.^[5][4]
6. (with comparatives) Still, even (more).^[5]

Word family

• μηκέτι (mēkéti)
• οὐκέτι (oukéti)

Related words

• Latin et

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 j k l Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge