οἶδα

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *wóyde (to have seen, know), from *weyd- (to see, know). Compare εἶδον (eîdon, to see) and εἴδομαι (eídomai, to seem), which originate from different aspectual forms of the same verbal root. Cognates include Proto-Slavic *věděti, Old Armenian գիտեմ (gitem), Sanskrit वेद (véda), Latin vīdī, and Proto-Germanic *witaną (English wit).[1]

Pronunciation

 

Verb

οἶδᾰ • (oîdă)

  1. (transitive) to know, be acquainted with [with accusative ‘something’]
    1. (with neuter accusative plural of an adjective): have a quality in one's heart
    2. (transitive) to be skilled in [with genitive ‘something’]
    • Aristotle, Metaphysics, 1
      Πάντες ἄνθρωποι τοῦ εἰδέναι ὀρέγονται φύσει.
      Pántes ánthrōpoi toû eidénai orégontai phúsei.
      All humans by nature yearn to know.
  2. (intransitive) to know how to [with infinitive ‘do something’]
  3. (transitive, when main verb and participle have separate subjects) to know that [with accusative ‘someone else’ and accusative participle ‘does something’]
    1. (intransitive, when subject of main verb and subject of participle are the same) to know that [with nominative participle ‘one does something’]
    2. to know that (with accusative and then an indirect statement introduced by ὅτι (hóti) or ὡς (hōs))

Conjugation

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “οἶδα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1053

Further reading