Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• θέλω ‎(thélō)

Verb

ἐθέλω • ‎(ethélō)

1. usually weaker than βούλομαι ‎(boúlomai), of consent rather than desire: (intransitive) I am willing, I wish [+infinitive = to do something]
   • 525 BCE – 455 BCE, Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 118
   • 428 BCE, Euripides, Hippolytus 1327
   • 70 CE – 110 CE, The Gospel of Matthew 7.12
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.3
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.71
   • 331 CE – 363 CE, Julian, Orations 1.132a
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.554
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 7.182
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 7.364
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 9.397
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 19.274
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 23.894
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 3.272
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 3.324
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 11.566
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 14.172
   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 5.50
   1. (Koine) I want, wish
      • 70 CE – 110 CE, The Gospel of Matthew 12.38
      • 70 CE – 110 CE, The Gospel of Matthew 20.21
      • New Testament, The Gospel of Mark 3.13
      • New Testament, The Gospel of Mark 7.24
      • 50 CE – 100 CE, The Gospel of John 5.6
      • 50 CE – 100 CE, The Gospel of John 9.27
2. (with negative) I don't care to, am unable
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 13.106
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 17.702
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 21.366
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 8.223
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 8.316
   • bad argument #1 to 'lc' (string expected, got nil)
   • Homeric Hymn to Demeter 45
3. (of inanimate objects)
   1. expressing future; I will, shall
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.109
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.11
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 7.49
      • Module:Quotations:218: attempt to compare number with nil
   2. I am naturally disposed; I am wont, accustomed
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Meteorology 347a5
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 1013b27
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 575a28
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.74
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 7.50
      • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, On Joints 41
      • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.89

Inflection

Derived terms

Related terms

References

• ἐθέλω in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ἐθέλω in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἐθέλω in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• «ἐθέλω» in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἐθέλω in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill