θεῖος

See also: θείος

Ancient Greek

Etymology 1

From Proto-Hellenic *tʰḗhyos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s-yo-, from *dʰéh₁s. Equivalent to θεός (theós, “god”) +‎ -ιος (-ios, adjectival suffix). Cognate with Latin fēriae.^[1]

Alternative forms

θέειος (théeios) — Epic
θεήϊος (theḗïos) — Ionic
θήϊος (thḗïos) — Aeolic
σεῖος (seîos) — Laconic

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /tʰêː.os/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈtʰi.os/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈθi.os/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈθi.os/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈθi.os/

Adjective

θεῖος • (theîos) m (feminine θείᾱ, neuter θεῖον); first/second declension

of or from the gods or God, divine
- 86 CE – 160 CE, Arrian, Enchiridion of Epictetus 2.18.28:
  Μέγας ὁ ἀγών ἐστιν, θεῖον τὸ ἔργον, ὑπὲρ βασιλείᾱς, ὑπὲρ ἐλευθερίᾱς, ὑπὲρ εὐροίᾱς, ὑπὲρ ἀταραξίᾱς.
  Mégas ho agṓn estin, theîon tò érgon, hupèr basileíās, hupèr eleutheríās, hupèr euroíās, hupèr ataraxíās.
  Great is the struggle, divine the task; the prize is a kingdom, freedom, serenity, peace.
(religion) belonging or sacred to a god, holy
superhuman (used of heroic figures)
imperial

Inflection

First and second declension of θεῖος; θείᾱ; θεῖον (Attic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	θεῖος theîos	θείᾱ theíā	θεῖον theîon	θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō	θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Genitive	θείου theíou	θείᾱς theíās	θείου theíou	θείοιν theíoin	θείαιν theíain	θείοιν theíoin	θείων theíōn	θείων theíōn	θείων theíōn
Dative	θείῳ theíōi	θείᾳ theíāi	θείῳ theíōi	θείοιν theíoin	θείαιν theíain	θείοιν theíoin	θείοις theíois	θείαις theíais	θείοις theíois
Accusative	θεῖον theîon	θείᾱν theíān	θεῖον theîon	θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō	θείους theíous	θείᾱς theíās	θεῖᾰ theîă
Vocative	θεῖε theîe	θείᾱ theíā	θεῖον theîon	θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō	θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Derived forms	Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
Derived forms	θείως theíōs			θειότερος theióteros			θειότᾰτος theiótătos
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First and second declension of θεῖος; θείη; θεῖον (Epic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	θεῖος theîos	θείη theíē	θεῖον theîon	θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō	θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Genitive	θείου / θειοῖο / θείοιο / θειόο / θείοο theíou / theioîo / theíoio / theióo / theíoo	θείης theíēs	θείου / θειοῖο / θείοιο / θειόο / θείοο theíou / theioîo / theíoio / theióo / theíoo	θείοιν / θείοιῐν theíoi(ĭ)n	θείαιν / θείαιῐν / θείῃῐν theíai(ĭ)n / theíēiĭn	θείοιν / θείοιῐν theíoi(ĭ)n	θείων theíōn	θειᾱ́ων / θειέ͜ων / θειῶν theiā́ōn / theié͜ōn / theiôn	θείων theíōn
Dative	θείῳ theíōi	θείῃ theíēi	θείῳ theíōi	θείοιν / θείοιῐν theíoi(ĭ)n	θείαιν / θείαιῐν / θείῃῐν theíai(ĭ)n / theíēiĭn	θείοιν / θείοιῐν theíoi(ĭ)n	θείοισῐ / θείοισῐν / θείοις theíoisĭ(n) / theíois	θείῃσῐ / θείῃσῐν / θείῃς / θείαις theíēisĭ(n) / theíēis / theíais	θείοισῐ / θείοισῐν / θείοις theíoisĭ(n) / theíois
Accusative	θεῖον theîon	θείην theíēn	θεῖον theîon	θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō	θείους theíous	θείᾱς theíās	θεῖᾰ theîă
Vocative	θεῖε theîe	θείη theíē	θεῖον theîon	θείω theíō	θείᾱ theíā	θείω theíō	θεῖοι theîoi	θεῖαι theîai	θεῖᾰ theîă
Derived forms	Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
Derived forms	θείως theíōs			θειότερος theióteros			θειότᾰτος theiótătos
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Synonyms

(of the gods): θεϊκός (theïkós), θεϊνός (theïnós)

Derived terms

θεῖον (theîon)

Descendants

Greek: θείος (theíos)

References

“θεῖος (A)”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Etymology 2

Probably an onomatopoeic formation.^[2] Compare τήθη (tḗthē, “grandmother”).

Noun

θεῖος • (theîos) m (genitive θείου); second declension

the brother of one's father or mother, uncle

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ θεῖος; τοῦ θείου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ θεῖος ho theîos	τὼ θείω tṑ theíō	οἱ θεῖοι hoi theîoi
Genitive	τοῦ θείου toû theíou	τοῖν θείοιν toîn theíoin	τῶν θείων tôn theíōn
Dative	τῷ θείῳ tōî theíōi	τοῖν θείοιν toîn theíoin	τοῖς θείοις toîs theíois
Accusative	τὸν θεῖον tòn theîon	τὼ θείω tṑ theíō	τοὺς θείους toùs theíous
Vocative	θεῖε theîe	θείω theíō	θεῖοι theîoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

Greek: θείος (theíos)
→ Latin: thius (see there for further descendants)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “θεός (> DER > 3. θεῖος)”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 540
^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “θεῖος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 537

“θεῖος (B)”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“θεῖος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“θεῖος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
θεῖος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
θεῖος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
“θεῖος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G2304 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- celestial idem, page 120.
- divine idem, page 244.
- ethereal idem, page 284.
- god-like idem, page 365.
- heaven-sent idem, page 393.
- heavenly idem, page 393.
- miraculous idem, page 532.
- preternatural idem, page 638.
- spiritual idem, page 802.
- superhuman idem, page 839.
- supernatural idem, page 839.
- uncle idem, page 909.
- unearthly idem, page 916.
- weird idem, page 973.
Chantraine, Pierre (1968–1980) “θεῖος”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque (in French), Paris: Klincksieck, pages 426-427
θεῖος, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “θεός (> DER > 3. θεῖος)”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 540

[2] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “θεῖος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 537

[1]

[2]

Ancient Greek

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adjective

Inflection

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Noun

Inflection

Descendants

References

Further reading