ἀΐδιος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἀεί (aeí, “always”) +‎ -διος (-dios, adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /aː.í.di.os/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈi.di.os/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈi.ði.os/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈi.ði.os/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈi.ði.os/

Adjective

ᾱ̓ΐδῐος • (āḯdĭos) m (feminine ᾱ̓ϊδίᾱ, neuter ᾱ̓ΐδῐον); first/second declension

(philosophical) timeless, eternal; existing always, without beginning or end; not subject to generation or decay
(denoting atemporal or metaphysical eternity rather than duration within time)
- 360 BCE, Plato, Timaeus 37e:
  ἡ ἀΐδιος οὐσία
  hē aḯdios ousía
  eternal being
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 1069a32:
  τὰ ἀΐδια καὶ τὰ γενητά
  tà aḯdia kaì tà genētá
  the eternal things and the generated things
everlasting, perpetual; permanently established or irreversible
(esp. of institutions, rule, or conditions conceived as structurally permanent)
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 1285a7:
  ἀΐδιος ἀρχή
  aḯdios arkhḗ
  permanent rule
- 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History 4.63:
  ἐς ἀΐδιον
  es aḯdion
  for ever
(rare, religious) unending, irrevocable
(of divine judgment or punishment, emphasizing permanence rather than duration)
- 50 CE – 100 CE, New Testament, Epistle of Jude 6:
  δεσμοῖς ἀϊδίοις ὑπὸ ζόφον τετήρηκεν
  desmoîs aïdíois hupò zóphon tetḗrēken
  he has kept them in eternal chains under darkness

Declension

First and second declension of ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐος; ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱ; ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐον (Attic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐος āĭ̈́dĭos	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱ āĭ̈dĭ́ā	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐον āĭ̈́dĭon	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ω āĭ̈dĭ́ō	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱ āĭ̈dĭ́ā	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ω āĭ̈dĭ́ō	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐοι āĭ̈́dĭoi	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐαι āĭ̈́dĭai	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐᾰ āĭ̈́dĭă
Genitive	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ου āĭ̈dĭ́ou	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱς āĭ̈dĭ́ās	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ου āĭ̈dĭ́ou	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́οιν āĭ̈dĭ́oin	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́αιν āĭ̈dĭ́ain	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́οιν āĭ̈dĭ́oin	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ων āĭ̈dĭ́ōn	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ων āĭ̈dĭ́ōn	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ων āĭ̈dĭ́ōn
Dative	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ῳ āĭ̈dĭ́ōi	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾳ āĭ̈dĭ́āi	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ῳ āĭ̈dĭ́ōi	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́οιν āĭ̈dĭ́oin	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́αιν āĭ̈dĭ́ain	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́οιν āĭ̈dĭ́oin	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́οις āĭ̈dĭ́ois	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́αις āĭ̈dĭ́ais	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́οις āĭ̈dĭ́ois
Accusative	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐον āĭ̈́dĭon	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱν āĭ̈dĭ́ān	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐον āĭ̈́dĭon	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ω āĭ̈dĭ́ō	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱ āĭ̈dĭ́ā	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ω āĭ̈dĭ́ō	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ους āĭ̈dĭ́ous	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱς āĭ̈dĭ́ās	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐᾰ āĭ̈́dĭă
Vocative	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐε āĭ̈́dĭe	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱ āĭ̈dĭ́ā	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐον āĭ̈́dĭon	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ω āĭ̈dĭ́ō	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ᾱ āĭ̈dĭ́ā	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ω āĭ̈dĭ́ō	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐοι āĭ̈́dĭoi	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐαι āĭ̈́dĭai	ᾱ̓ῐ̈́δῐᾰ āĭ̈́dĭă
Derived forms	Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
Derived forms	ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐ́ως āĭ̈dĭ́ōs			ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐώτερος āĭ̈dĭṓteros			ᾱ̓ῐ̈δῐώτᾰτος āĭ̈dĭṓtătos
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Usage notes

ᾱ̓ΐδιος (āḯdios) denotes timeless or metaphysical eternity, especially in philosophical contexts, referring to that which neither begins nor ends and does not exist within temporal succession.
ᾱ̓ΐδιος (āḯdios) is distinct from αἰώνιος (aiṓnios), which denotes duration belonging to an αἰών (aiṓn, “age”) and may refer to long-lasting, lifelong, or even eschatologically unending states, but not necessarily to timeless existence.
ᾱ̓ΐδιος (āḯdios) is also distinct from ἀείζωος (aeízōos, “ever-living”), which describes that which lives continually but may still be generated or temporally conditioned.
In Jewish and Christian Greek, ᾱ̓ΐδιος (āḯdios) is rare and marked; where it occurs, it typically emphasizes irreversibility or permanence, whereas αἰώνιος (aiṓnios) is the standard term for eschatological duration.

Derived terms

ἀϊδίως (aïdíōs)

Related terms

ἀείζωος (aeízōos)
αἰώνιος (aiṓnios)