ὀπτικός

Forms

ὀπτῐκός (optikós) m (feminine ὀπτῐκή, neuter ὀπτῐκόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed with the suffix -ικός (-ikós) on the verbal adjective from Ancient Greek ὀπτός (optós, “seen, visible”), according to Babiniotis and Etymonline.^[2][3] Wiktionary connects it instead with ὄψις (ópsis, “sight”), from the same stem.^[1] The stem ὀπ- “see” is that of ὄπωπα (ópōpa, “I have seen”), which Beekes traces to Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“to see”).^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Aristotle, who uses the neuter plural and the feminine as nouns for the theory of sight, “optics”.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle uses the word in the Metaphysics, the Physics and the Analytics, and Euclid used it after him.^[6][5] Galen speaks of the “optic power” of the eye.^[6][5] In Byzantine Greek Psellus uses it of an expert in optics and of an eye doctor.^[8] Medieval vernacular Greek kept the adjective.^[9]

It was borrowed into Latin as opticus.^[1] English optic came in the late 14th century from Old French optique and directly from Medieval Latin.^[3] Modern Greek οπτικός (optikós) continues the ancient adjective as a learned word, with new senses modelled on French optique; as a noun it means an optician.^[10][2]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses the feminine and the neuter plural as nouns for the science of sight.^[6][7][11]
• 3rd century BC – Euclid uses the word in his writings on the heavens and on sight.^[5][11]
• 2nd century AD – Galen speaks of the optic power and optic arguments.^[6][11]
• Byzantine period – Psellus uses the superlative of a man most expert in optics and the masculine as a noun for an eye doctor.^[8]
• Late 14th century – English borrows it as optic through Old French and Medieval Latin.^[3]
• Modern Greek – The learned adjective means optical, and the noun an optician.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to sight; optic, visual.^[6][7]
2. ἡ ὀπτική (supply θεωρία) and τὰ ὀπτικά: optics, the theory of the laws of sight.^[6][7]
3. (Byzantine) As a noun, an expert in optics; an eye doctor.^[8]

Related words

• ὀπτός (optós)
• ὄψις (ópsis)
• ὄπωπα (ópōpa)
• Latin opticus
• English optic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b c Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
9. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge