στοιχεῖον

στοιχεῖον

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 27 February 2015

Etymology

στοῖχος (stoîkhos) +‎ -εῖον (-eîon)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /stoi̯.kʰêː.on/ → /styˈçi.on/ → /stiˈçi.on/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /stoi̯.kʰêː.on/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /styˈkʰi.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /styˈçi.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /styˈçi.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /stiˈçi.on/

Noun

στοιχεῖον • (stoikheîon) n (genitive στοιχείου); second declension

1. (properly) one of a row:
   1. (in the sun-dial) the shadow of the gnomon, which advances regularly hour after hour
      • 391 BCE, Aristophanes, Assemblywomen 652
      • 4th century BC, Eubulus, Incert. 1
      • 362 BCE – 262 BCE, Philemon, ap. Phot.
2. (generally) one of a series, a component part, an element:
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.3.1
   • 350 BCE, Aristotle, On the Heavens 3.3.1
   1. a simple sound of the voice, as the first element of language; an elementary sound, as distinct from a letter (γράμμα, grámma)
      • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Cratylus 424d
      • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Cratylus 426d
      • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 202e
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Poët. 20.2
   2. (physics, usually in the plural) any one of the component parts of matter, an element
      • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 201e
      • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, The Statesman 278c
      • 360 BCE, Plato, Timaeus 48b
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, On Generation and Corruption 1.8.3
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 2.3.2
      • 3rd century AD, Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers 3.24
      • Bentl., Phal. 523
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Meteorology 1.1.1
      • Thales, ap. Plut. 2.875d
      • Anaxim., ap. Diog. L. 2.1
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Physics 1.5.6
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 12.10.5
      1. (Aristotelianism) the material cause of a thing, as opposed to the formal or motive cause (ἀρχή, arkhḗ)
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.1.1
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.3.1
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 6.17.2
         • Orph., H. 4.4
         • Babr. 71.4
   3. (in the plural) the elements of knowledge and the sciences
      1. (geometry) points, lines, surfaces
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Categories 12.3
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.3
      2. (arithmetic) units
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.3
      3. (grammar) parts of speech
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Poët. 20.1
         • 60 BCE – 7 BCE, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, de Comp. 2
      4. (logic) the major premisses of syllogisms
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.3.3
      5. (rhetoric) commonplaces
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Rhetoric 1.6.1
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Rhetoric 2.22.13
   4. (generally) a simple or elementary principle
      • Xea., Mem. 2.1.1
      • 436 BCE – 338 BCE, Isocrates, Collected Works 18a
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 5.9.5
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 1.9.12
      • Nicol., Incert. 1.30
   5. (in later writers) a planet
      • Eccl.
      • Vales. ad Eus., H.E. 3.31
      • Manetho 4.624
      1. (especially) a sign of the Zodiac
         • 3rd century AD, Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers 6.102

Declension

Second declension of τὸ στοιχεῖον; τοῦ στοιχείου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ στοιχεῖον tò stoikheîon	τὼ στοιχείω tṑ stoikheíō	τᾰ̀ στοιχεῖᾰ tà stoikheîa
Genitive	τοῦ στοιχείου toû stoikheíou	τοῖν στοιχείοιν toîn stoikheíoin	τῶν στοιχείων tôn stoikheíōn
Dative	τῷ στοιχείῳ tôi stoikheíōi	τοῖν στοιχείοιν toîn stoikheíoin	τοῖς στοιχείοις toîs stoikheíois
Accusative	τὸ στοιχεῖον tò stoikheîon	τὼ στοιχείω tṑ stoikheíō	τᾰ̀ στοιχεῖᾰ tà stoikheîa
Vocative	στοιχεῖον stoikheîon	στοιχείω stoikheíō	στοιχεῖᾰ stoikheîa
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

• (physics: component part of matter, element): ἀρχή (arkhḗ) (in Thales and Anaximenes, but not in Aristotle), ῥίζωμᾰ (rhízōma) (Empedoclean)
• (sign of the Zodiac): στοιχειώμᾰτᾰ n pl (stoikheiṓmata)

Derived terms

• κᾰτᾰ̀ στοιχεῖον (katà stoikheîon)
• Στοιχείᾰ (Stoikheía)
• στοιχειᾰκός (stoikheiakós)
• στοιχειογρᾰφέω (stoikheiographéō)
• στοιχειοκρᾰ́τωρ (stoikheiokrátōr)
• στοιχειολάτρης (stoikheiolátrēs)
• στοιχειολογῐ́ᾱ (stoikheiologíā)
• στοιχειόω (stoikheióō)
• στοιχειώδης (stoikheiṓdēs)
• στοιχείωμᾰ (stoikheíōma)
• στοιχείωσῐς (stoikheíōsis)
• στοιχειωτής (stoikheiōtḗs)
• στοιχειωτῐκός (stoikheiōtikós)
• στοιχειωτός (stoikheiōtós)

Descendants

• Greek: στοιχειό (stoicheió)
• → Greek: στοιχείο (stoicheío)
• →? Albanian: stihji
• → Latin: stoechīon
• → Old Georgian: სტჳქისი (sṭwikisi)
• → Russian: стихия (stixija)

References

• “στοιχεῖον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• στοιχεῖον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• G4747 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • sundial idem, page 838.