archon

archon

See also: archón

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn), a noun use of the present participle of ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑː(ɹ)kən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

archon (plural archontes or archons)

1. A chief magistrate of ancient Athens.
   • 1980, Burgess, Earthly Powers:

     Hated by the archons of Athens for his fearless condemnation of municipal graft, he was hypocritically arraigned on a charge of corrupting Athenian youth.

2. A person who claims the right to rule, or to exercise power or sovereign authority over other human beings.
3. A ruler, head of state or other leader.
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:

     But neither the midwife’s lore nor the caudlectures saved him from the archons of Sinn Fein and their noggin of hemlock.

4. (Gnosticism) A supernatural being subordinate to the Demiurge.
   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 83:

     Their claim to totality is like the cry of the archon Ialdabaoth that he was the Lord of the Universe and that there was nothing beyond him.

Related terms

• archaeo-
• archaic
• archaism
• archeo-
• archive
• -archy

Translations

chief magistrate

Arabic: أَرْخُن‎ m (ʾarḵon) Bulgarian: архонт (arhont) Catalan: arcont (ca) m Coptic: ⲁⲣⲭⲱⲛ (arkhōn) Esperanto: arĥonto, arkonto Finnish: arkontti (fi) French: archonte (fr) m German: Archon (de) m, Archont m Greek: άρχοντας (el) m (árchontas), αρχόντισσα (el) f (archóntissa) Ancient: ἄρχων m (árkhōn) Italian: arconte (it) m Lithuanian: archontas (lt) m Norwegian: arkont m Persian: ارخون‎ (arxon), ارکنت‎ (arkont) Polish: archont (pl) m Portuguese: arconte m Russian: архо́нт (ru) m (arxónt) Spanish: arconte (es) m

Further reading

• archon in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• archon in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
• archon at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Anchor, Charon, achorn, anchor, noarch, rancho

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Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈar.kʰoːn/, [ˈärkʰoːn]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈar.kon/, [ˈärkon]

Noun

archōn m (genitive archontis); third declension

1. archon

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	archōn	archontēs
Genitive	archontis	archontum
Dative	archontī	archontibus
Accusative	archontem	archontēs
Ablative	archonte	archontibus
Vocative	archōn	archontēs

Descendants

• Catalan: arcont
• Italian: arconte
• Portuguese: arconte
• Spanish: arconte

References

• “archon”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “archon”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• archon in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• archon in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• “archon”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎
• “archon”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “archon”, in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• “archon”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin