ὕπατος

Forms

ῠ̔́πᾰτος (húpatos) m (feminine ῠ̔πᾰ́τη, neuter ῠ̔́πᾰτον); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a superlative formed from ὑπό (hupó) with the suffix -ατος (-atos).^[1][2] Instead of the old superlative suffix *-mo-, seen in Sanskrit and in Latin summus (“highest”) (from Proto-Indo-European *sup-mo-), Greek used -το- on the model of ἔσχατος (éskhatos), δέκατος (dékatos) and μέσατος (mésatos).^[2][3] It shares the stem of that preposition and of ὑπέρ (hupér), and belongs with ὕψι (húpsi, “on high”) and ὕψος (húpsos, “height”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, mostly as an epithet of Zeus, “highest of the gods”, “highest of rulers”, and of place, “on the very top” of the funeral pyre.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Pindar uses it of quality, “highest, best”, and Aeschylus of the gods above, opposed to those of the underworld.^[4] The Hellenistic poets stretched it to “lowest”, “furthest” and “last”.^[4]

From Polybius on, ὁ ὕπατος was the Greek name for the Roman consul, and LSJ notes the adjective ὑπατικός used in the same sense.^[4][2] In Modern Greek ύπατος (ípatos) is a learned word: the Roman consul, and as an adjective “supreme”, of the highest offices.^[6]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey call Zeus “highest of the gods”.^[4][5]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for “best, most excellent”.^[4][7]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for the Roman consul.^[4][7]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek ύπατος (ípatos) is the Roman consul and, as an adjective, “supreme”.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Highest, uppermost, especially of Zeus and the gods above.^[4]
2. Of place, on the very top.^[4]
3. (Hellenistic poetry) Lowest; furthest; of time, last.^[4]
4. Of quality, highest, best.^[4]

Noun

1. (Hellenistic and Roman) A Roman consul.^[4][2]

Word family

• ὑπατεία (hupateíā)
• ὑπάτη (hupátē)
• ὑπατικός (hupatikós)

Related words

• ὑπό (hupó)
• ὑπέρ (hupér)
• ὕψος (húpsos)
• Latin summus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
7. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge