ἤδη

Forms

ἤδη (ḗdē) ^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἦ (ê, “truly”) + δή (dḗ, “precisely, now”), two particles that grew together.^[2][3][1][4] Babiniotis compares the same particle in ἐπειδή (epeidḗ).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from the first book of the Iliad on, and in Hesiod.^[5] In Homer it means “already”, as in “it is already night”, and “immediately”.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Classical Greek uses it for something that has happened before a given time (“already”, “by then”), for the present moment as opposed to past or future (“now”, “only now”, and τότ’ ἤδη “only then”), and in commands for “right away”.^[7][6] Herodotus and Thucydides use it of place, for the point from which a region begins.^[6][7] Plato uses it of logical consequence, and later writers have καὶ ἤδη “and further” and ἤδη “for instance”.^[6]

In the New Testament it means “now, already”, and νῦν ἤδη “even now”.^[8] Modern Greek has ήδη (ídi, “already”) as a learned word.^[9][4]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for “already” and “immediately”.^[6][7][5]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of place: after this point Egypt begins.^[6]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of logical consequence.^[6]
• 4th century BC – Aeneas Tacticus uses it for “for instance”.^[6]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for “now, already”.^[8]
• Modern Greek – ήδη (ídi) survives as a learned word.^[9]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Already, by this time; by then.^[7][6][8]
2. Now, at this point; only now, at last; τότ’ ἤδη “only then”.^[7][6]
3. For now, for the present.^[7]
4. Immediately, right away, especially in commands.^[7][6]
5. Of place: from this point on.^[7][6]
6. Of logical sequence: then, thereby, and καὶ ἤδη “and further”, “for instance”.^[6]

Related words

• ἦ (ê)
• δή (dḗ)

Usage notes

The same spelling is also the Attic pluperfect “I knew” of οἶδα (oîda).^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b c 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
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki