Etymologically
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ῥῆμα

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Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /r̥ɛ̂ː.ma/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈri.ma/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈri.ma/[1]

Forms

ῥῆμᾰ (rhêma) n (genitive ῥήμᾰτος); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek εἴρω (eírō, “to say”) + -μα (-ma), a noun of result, “what is said”.[1][2][3] It belongs to the group of ῥῆσις (rhêsis, “speech”), ῥήτρα (rhḗtra, “agreement, law”) and ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr, “speaker”), whose initial /w/ appears in Arcadian ϝρῆσις (wrêsis) and Elean ϝράτρα (wrátra).[2] Beekes derives all these forms from a two-syllable root Proto-Indo-European *werh₁- (“to speak solemnly”), and compares the verb Hittite weriye/a-zi (“to call, name”).[2]

Ancient grammarians such as Philoxenus derived it from a monosyllabic verb meaning “to speak”, and gave its future and aorist.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first texts are Archilochus and Theognis, where it means a word or something said.[3][5][6] In prose Herodotus is the first to use it.[3]

Semantic evolution

In classical Greek it is a saying or statement, a wise man's maxim (Plato's Protagoras discusses a saying of Pittacus), and words opposed to deeds or to the truth, as in Pindar and Thucydides.[3][5] Aristophanes uses it of a single expression or phrase.[5] Plato and Aristotle made it a grammatical term: set against ὄνομα (ónoma, “noun”), it is the verb or predicate of a sentence.[5][2]

In the New Testament it is any word or saying, and in the plural the words of God and the teachings of the Lord.[7] Paul uses the singular for the message that is “near you”.[7] Medieval and Modern Greek keep it as a grammatical term: Modern Greek ρήμα (ríma) is a learned word for a verb.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 7th century BC – Archilochus uses it for a word or saying.[3][5][10]
  • 6th–5th century BC – Pindar sets words against deeds.[3][10]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus is the first to use it in prose.[3][10]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for a verb as opposed to a noun.[5][10]
  • 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for the words of God.[7]
  • Modern Greek – ρήμα is the grammatical term for a verb.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Something said, a statement; a saying, maxim.[3][5]
  2. A spoken word, often in the plural.[5][3]
  3. A mere word, as opposed to deeds or reality.[5]
  4. A word or phrase, an expression.[5]
  5. (grammar) A verb, as opposed to a noun; a phrase.[5]
  6. (New Testament) The word of God, divine teaching.[7]

Word family

  • ἐπίρρημα (epírrhēma)
  • εἴρω (eírō)
  • ῥῆσις (rhêsis)
  • ῥήτωρ (rhḗtōr)
  • ῥήτρα (rhḗtra)
  • ῥητός (rhētós)

Usage notes

A proverb recorded by the Suda, “words instead of barley groats”, mocks fine words that do not feed anyone.[3][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 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
  4. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ a b c d 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
  8. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  10. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
  11. ^ Adler, Ada, ed. (1928–1938), Suidae Lexicon, 5 vols, Leipzig: Teubner