θεῖος

See also: θείος

Ancient Greek

Etymology 1

From Proto-Hellenic *tʰḗhyos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s-yo-, from *dʰéh₁s. Equivalent to θεός (theós, “god”) +‎ -ιος (-ios, adjectival suffix). Cognate with Latin fēriae.

Alternative forms

• θέειος (théeios) — Epic
• θεήϊος (theḗïos) — Ionic
• θήϊος (thḗïos) — Aeolic
• σεῖος (seîos) — Laconic

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /tʰêː.os/ → /ˈθi.os/ → /ˈθi.os/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /tʰêː.os/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈtʰi.os/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈθi.os/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈθi.os/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈθi.os/

Adjective

θεῖος • (theîos) m (feminine θείᾱ, neuter θεῖον); first/second declension

1. of or from the gods or God, divine
   • 86 CE – 160 CE, Arrian, Enchiridion of Epictetus 2.18.28:

     Μέγας ὁ ἀγών ἐστιν, θεῖον τὸ ἔργον, ὑπὲρ βασιλείᾱς, ὑπὲρ ἐλευθερίᾱς, ὑπὲρ εὐροίᾱς, ὑπὲρ ἀταραξίᾱς.

     Mégas ho agṓn estin, theîon tò érgon, hupèr basileíās, hupèr eleutheríās, hupèr euroíās, hupèr ataraxíās.

     Great is the struggle, divine the task; the prize is a kingdom, freedom, serenity, peace.

2. (religion) belonging or sacred to a god, holy
3. superhuman (used of heroic figures)
4. imperial

Inflection

First and second declension of θεῖος; θείᾱ; θεῖον (Attic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		θεῖος theîos	θείᾱ theíā	θεῖον theîon		θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō		θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Genitive		θείου theíou	θείᾱς theíās	θείου theíou		θείοιν theíoin	θείαιν theíain	θείοιν theíoin		θείων theíōn	θείων theíōn	θείων theíōn
Dative		θείῳ theíōi	θείᾳ theíāi	θείῳ theíōi		θείοιν theíoin	θείαιν theíain	θείοιν theíoin		θείοις theíois	θείαις theíais	θείοις theíois
Accusative		θεῖον theîon	θείᾱν theíān	θεῖον theîon		θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō		θείους theíous	θείᾱς theíās	θεῖᾰ theîă
Vocative		θεῖε theîe	θείᾱ theíā	θεῖον theîon		θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō		θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		θείως theíōs				θειότερος theióteros				θειότᾰτος theiótătos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First and second declension of θεῖος; θείη; θεῖον (Epic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		θεῖος theîos	θείη theíē	θεῖον theîon		θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō		θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Genitive		θείοιο θείοο θείου theíoio theíoo theíou	θείης theíēs	θείοιο θείοο θείου theíoio theíoo theíou		θείοιῐ̈ν theíoiĭ̈n	θείαιῐ̈ν theíaiĭ̈n	θείοιῐ̈ν theíoiĭ̈n		θείων theíōn	θειᾱ́ων θειέων θειῶν theiā́ōn theiéōn theiôn	θείων theíōn
Dative		θείῳ theíōi	θείῃ theíēi	θείῳ theíōi		θείοιῐ̈ν theíoiĭ̈n	θείαιῐ̈ν theíaiĭ̈n	θείοιῐ̈ν theíoiĭ̈n		θείοισῐ θείοισῐν θείοις theíoisĭ(n) theíois	θείῃσῐ θείῃσῐν θείῃς θείαις theíēisĭ(n) theíēis theíais	θείοισῐ θείοισῐν θείοις theíoisĭ(n) theíois
Accusative		θεῖον theîon	θείην theíēn	θεῖον theîon		θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō		θείους theíous	θείᾱς theíās	θεῖᾰ theîă
Vocative		θεῖε theîe	θείη theíē	θεῖον theîon		θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō		θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		θείως theíōs				θειότερος theióteros				θειότᾰτος theiótătos
Notes:		Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Synonyms

• (of the gods): θεϊκός (theïkós), θεϊνός (theïnós)

Derived terms

• θεῖον (theîon)
• θειότης (theiótēs)
• πάνθειος (pántheios)

Descendants

• Greek: θείος (theíos)

References

• “θεῖος (A)”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Etymology 2

Probably an onomatopoeic formation. Compare τήθη (tḗthē, “grandmother”).

Noun

θεῖος • (theîos) m (genitive θείου); second declension

2. the brother of one's father or mother, uncle

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ θεῖος; τοῦ θείου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ θεῖος ho theîos	τὼ θείω tṑ theíō	οἱ θεῖοι hoi theîoi
Genitive	τοῦ θείου toû theíou	τοῖν θείοιν toîn theíoin	τῶν θείων tôn theíōn
Dative	τῷ θείῳ tōî theíōi	τοῖν θείοιν toîn theíoin	τοῖς θείοις toîs theíois
Accusative	τὸν θεῖον tòn theîon	τὼ θείω tṑ theíō	τοὺς θείους toùs theíous
Vocative	θεῖε theîe	θείω theíō	θεῖοι theîoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: θείος (theíos)
• → Latin: thius (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• “θεῖος (B)”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “θεῖος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “θεῖος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• θεῖος in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• θεῖος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “θεῖος”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2304 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • celestial idem, page 120.
  • divine idem, page 244.
  • ethereal idem, page 284.
  • god-like idem, page 365.
  • heaven-sent idem, page 393.
  • heavenly idem, page 393.
  • miraculous idem, page 532.
  • preternatural idem, page 638.
  • spiritual idem, page 802.
  • superhuman idem, page 839.
  • supernatural idem, page 839.
  • uncle idem, page 909.
  • unearthly idem, page 916.
  • weird idem, page 973.
• Chantraine, Pierre (1968–1980), “θεῖος”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque (in French), Paris: Klincksieck, pages 426-427
• θεῖος, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011