τέκτων

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Ancient Greek

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Etymology

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From Proto-Hellenic *téktōn, from Proto-Indo-European *tetḱō (carpenter), from *tetḱ- (to create, produce). Cognate with Sanskrit तक्षन् (tákṣan).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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τέκτων (téktōnm (genitive τέκτονος); third declension

  1. one who works with wood: carpenter, builder
    • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1.1098a:
      καὶ γὰρ τέκτων καὶ γεωμέτρης διαφερόντως ἐπιζητοῦσι τὴν ὀρθήν: ὃ μὲν γὰρ ἐφ᾽ ὅσον χρησίμη πρὸς τὸ ἔργον, ὃ δὲ τί ἐστιν ἢ ποῖόν τι: θεατὴς γὰρ τἀληθοῦς.
      • 1926 translation by H. Rackham
        A carpenter and a geometrician both try to find a right angle, but in different ways; the former is content with that approximation to it which satisfies the purpose of his work; the latter, being a student of truth, seeks to find its essence or essential attributes.
  2. any craftsman (but generally opposed to metalworker, smith)
  3. a master of any art, such as gymnastics, poetry, or medicine or engineering
  4. author, creator, planner

Inflection

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “τέκτων, -ονος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1460

Further reading

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