βασιλεύω

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• βασιλέω (basiléō)

Etymology

From βασιλεύς (basileús, “king”)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ba.si.lěu̯.ɔː/ → /βa.siˈle.βo/ → /va.siˈle.vo/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ba.si.lěu̯.ɔː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ba.siˈle.wo/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /βa.siˈle.βo/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /va.siˈle.vo/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /va.siˈle.vo/

Verb

βασιλεύω • (basileúō)

1. to be king, to rule, reign as king
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 2.203
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 9.616
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 2.47
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 22.52
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.425
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 11.285
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.2
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.401
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 7.59
   • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Septuagint, 1 Maccabees 1.16
   • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 576D–E
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 1284B.39
   • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 680E
   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Pythian Ode 4.106
   • 445 BCE – 380 BCE, Lysias, Funeral Oration 19
   • 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Sulla 12
   1. (ἡ βασιλεύσουσα πόλις (hē basileúsousa pólis)) the imperial city, Rome
      • 250 CE – 350 CE, Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 3.98C
   2. to enjoy as absolute master
      • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Theocritus, Collected Works 21.60
   3. (absolute) to live right royally
      • 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Moralia 2.101D
      • 53 CE – 55 CE, Paul the Apostle, First Epistle to the Corinthians 4:8
   4. (causal) to appoint as king
      • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Septuagint, Judges 9.6
      • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, 1 Samuel 8.22
      • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, 1 Samuel 12.1

Inflection

   Present: βασιλεύω, βασιλεύομαι

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	βασιλεύω	βασιλεύεις	βασιλεύει	βασιλεύετον	βασιλεύετον	βασιλεύομεν	βασιλεύετε	βασιλεύουσῐ(ν)
	subjunctive	βασιλεύω	βασιλεύῃς	βασιλεύῃ	βασιλεύητον	βασιλεύητον	βασιλεύωμεν	βασιλεύητε	βασιλεύωσῐ(ν)
	optative	βασιλεύοιμῐ	βασιλεύοις	βασιλεύοι	βασιλεύοιτον	βασιλευοίτην	βασιλεύοιμεν	βασιλεύοιτε	βασιλεύοιεν
	imperative		βασίλευε	βασιλευέτω	βασιλεύετον	βασιλευέτων		βασιλεύετε	βασιλευόντων
middle/ passive	indicative	βασιλεύομαι	βασιλεύῃ, βασιλεύει	βασιλεύεται	βασιλεύεσθον	βασιλεύεσθον	βασιλευόμεθᾰ	βασιλεύεσθε	βασιλεύονται
	subjunctive	βασιλεύωμαι	βασιλεύῃ	βασιλεύηται	βασιλεύησθον	βασιλεύησθον	βασιλευώμεθᾰ	βασιλεύησθε	βασιλεύωνται
	optative	βασιλευοίμην	βασιλεύοιο	βασιλεύοιτο	βασιλεύοισθον	βασιλευοίσθην	βασιλευοίμεθᾰ	βασιλεύοισθε	βασιλεύοιντο
	imperative		βασιλεύου	βασιλευέσθω	βασιλεύεσθον	βασιλευέσθων		βασιλεύεσθε	βασιλευέσθων
		active				middle/passive
infinitive		βασιλεύειν				βασιλεύεσθαι
participle	m	βασιλεύων				βασιλευόμενος
	f	βασιλεύουσᾰ				βασιλευομένη
	n	βασιλεῦον				βασιλευόμενον
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

   Imperfect: ἐβασίλευον, ἐβασιλευόμην

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	ἐβασίλευον	ἐβασίλευες	ἐβασίλευε(ν)	ἐβασιλεύετον	ἐβασιλευέτην	ἐβασιλεύομεν	ἐβασιλεύετε	ἐβασίλευον
middle/ passive	indicative	ἐβασιλευόμην	ἐβασιλεύου	ἐβασιλεύετο	ἐβασιλεύεσθον	ἐβασιλευέσθην	ἐβασιλευόμεθᾰ	ἐβασιλεύεσθε	ἐβασιλεύοντο
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

References

• “βασιλεύω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “βασιλεύω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “βασιλεύω”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• βασιλεύω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βασιλεύω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• βασιλεύω in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “βασιλεύω”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G936 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

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Greek

Etymology

Inherited from Ancient Greek βασιλεύω (basileúō). Sense 'sunset' since mediaeval times.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /va.siˈle.vo/
• Hyphenation: βα‧σι‧λεύ‧ω

Verb

βασιλεύω • (vasilévo) (past βασίλεψα, passive —)

1. (monarchy) reign, rule (also used figuratively)
2. (astronomy) set, go down, wester (sun, stars, etc)
   1. (figuratively) decline

Conjugation

βασιλεύω   (active forms only plus passive perfect participle)

	Active voice ➤
Indicative mood ➤	Imperfective aspect ➤	Perfective aspect ➤
Non-past tenses ➤	Present ➤	Dependent ➤
1 sg	βασιλεύω	βασιλέψω
2 sg	βασιλεύεις	βασιλέψεις
3 sg	βασιλεύει	βασιλέψει
1 pl	βασιλεύουμε, [‑ομε]	βασιλέψουμε, [‑ομε]
2 pl	βασιλεύετε	βασιλέψετε
3 pl	βασιλεύουν(ε)	βασιλέψουν(ε)
Past tenses ➤	Imperfect ➤	Simple past ➤
1 sg	βασίλευα	βασίλεψα
2 sg	βασίλευες	βασίλεψες
3 sg	βασίλευε	βασίλεψε
1 pl	βασιλεύαμε	βασιλέψαμε
2 pl	βασιλεύατε	βασιλέψατε
3 pl	βασίλευαν, βασιλεύαν(ε)	βασίλεψαν, βασιλέψαν(ε)
Future tenses ➤	Continuous ➤	Simple ➤
1 sg	θα βασιλεύω ➤	θα βασιλέψω ➤
2,3 sg, 1,2,3 pl	θα βασιλεύεις, …	θα βασιλέψεις, …
	Perfect aspect ➤
Present perfect ➤	έχω, έχεις, … βασιλέψει	είμαι, είσαι, … βασιλεμένος, ‑η, ‑ο ➤ (also passive voice)
Past perfect ➤	είχα, είχες, … βασιλέψει	ήμουν, ήσουν, … βασιλεμένος, ‑η, ‑ο
Future perfect ➤	θα έχω, θα έχεις, … βασιλέψει	θα είμαι, θα είσαι, … βασιλεμένος, ‑η, ‑ο
Subjunctive mood ➤	Formed using present, dependent (for simple past) or present perfect from above with a particle (να, ας).
Imperative mood ➤	Imperfective aspect	Perfective aspect
2 sg	βασίλευε	βασίλεψε
2 pl	βασιλεύετε	βασιλέψτε
Other forms
Active present participle ➤	declinable {βασιλεύων, βασιλεύουσα, βασιλεύον} indeclinable βασιλεύοντας ➤
Active perfect participle ➤	έχοντας βασιλέψει ➤
Passive perfect participle ➤	passive present participle {βασιλευόμενος, βασιλευομένη/βασιλευόμενη, ‑o} passive perfect participle βασιλεμένος, ‑η, ‑o ➤
Nonfinite form ➤	βασιλέψει
Notes     Appendix:Greek verbs	• (…) optional or informal.   […] rare.   {…} learned, archaic.  • Multiple forms are shown in order of reducing frequency.  • Periphrastic imperative forms may be produced using the subjunctive.

Synonyms

• (sunset, decline): δύω (dýo)

Derived terms

• βασιλευομένη δημοκρατία (vasilevoméni dimokratía, “a democracy with a monarch”)

Related terms

• αβασίλευτος (avasíleftos, “not governed by a monarch”)
• βασίλεμα n (vasílema, “sunset”)
• βασιλεμένος (vasileménos, “sunsetted”, passive perfect participle)
• βασιλευόμενος m (vasilevómenos, “who is reigned”, passive present participle), βασιλευομένη f, βασιλευόμενο(ν) (formal)
• βασιλεύων m (vasilévon, “reigning”, active present participle), βασιλεύουσα f (vasilévousa), βασιλεύον (formal)
• συμβασιλεύω (symvasilévo, “reign together”)