ἀγαπάω

See also: αγαπάω

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 9 October 2017

Alternative forms

  • ἀγαπέω (agapéō) Doric

Etymology

  • Semantically, Semitic offers a match in Hebrew אָהַב (ʾaháḇ) and Arabic أَحَبَّ (ʾaḥabba). This Semitic, in turn, is suggested by Saul Levin to be a borrowing since the Hebrew has a variant אגב (ʾḡḇ),[1] but it must be admonished against this that the root ح ب ب (ḥ-b-b) is well-developed and well-used in Arabic.
  • Friedrich Cornelius[2] believed that ἀγαπάω was borrowed from the precursor of Abkhaz а-гәаҧха-ра (ā-g°āpxā-rā, to like, wish, love), though a better match could be Adyghe гуапэ (g°āpă), гуапэ (g°āpă, nice, cordial, pleasurable), all three containing the Northwest Caucasian word for “heart” (compare Adyghe гу ())[3].

Pronunciation

 

Verb

ᾰ̓γᾰπᾰ́ω • (agapáō)

(chiefly Attic, Doric, Koine)
  1. (Tragic Greek) to show affection for the dead
  2. (transitive) to treat with affection, be fond of, love
  3. (passive) to be beloved
  4. (transitive, rare) to caress, pet
  5. (transitive, intransitive) I am pleased with, take pleasure in, like
    • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 21.289–290:
      οὐκ ἀγαπᾷς [] μεθ' ἡμῖν δαίνυσαι
      ouk agapâis [] meth' hēmîn daínusai
      Aren't you pleased to dine with us?
  6. (New Testament, transitive) to show brotherly love or agape to

Inflection

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • ἀγαπάζω (agapázō)

Descendants

Further reading

References

  1. Levin, Saul (1995) Semitic and Indo-European. The Principal Etymologies. With Observations on Afro-Asiatic (Current Issues in Linguistic Theory; 129), volume I, Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing, page 292
  2. Cornelius, Friedrich (1960) Geistesgeschichte der Frühzeit. Von der Eiszeit bis zur Erfindung der Keilschrift, volume I, Leiden, Köln: E.J. Brill, pages 205–6
  3. Chirikba, Viacheslav A. (1996) A Dictionary of Common Abkhaz, Leiden, pages 36–37
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