Ancient Greek

Adjective

δῐᾰλεκτῐκός • ‎(dialektikós) m ‎(feminine δῐᾰλεκτῐκή, neuter δῐᾰλεκτῐκόν); first/second declension (Attic, Koine)

1. (rare) Conversational
   • 350 BCE – 280 BCE, Demetrius of Phalerum, On Style 167
2. Skilled in dialectic
   • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Cratylus 390.c

     Σωκράτης: τὸν δὲ ἐρωτᾶν καὶ ἀποκρίνεσθαι ἐπιστάμενον ἄλλο τι σὺ καλεῖς ἢ διαλεκτικόν;

     Socrates: And the one who knows how to ask questions and answer them – would you call him anything other than skilled in dialectic?

   • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 534.b
3. Dialectical
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 995.b.23
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Topics 100.a.22
   • 3rd century AD, Diogenes Laertius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers 10.24

Inflection

Derived terms

• δῐᾰλεκτῐκή ‎(dialektikḗ)

References

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