διά

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• δια- (dia-) — as prefix
• διαί (diaí) — Poetic
• ζά (zá) — Aeolic
• δι’ (di’) — apocopic

Etymology

From *δισα (disa), from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (related to δίς (dís, “twice”) and δύο (dúo, “two”)). Cognates include Latin dis- and Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐍃- (dis-).

The genitive is from the PIE ablative of comparison/extent. The accusative is from the pre-PIE directional and the PIE accusative of direct object.

Pronunciation

Preposition

δῐᾰ́ • (diá) (governs the genitive and accusative)

1. 1. (of a place)
      1. in a line
      2. through
      3. in the midst of, between
      4. along
      5. at intervals of, at every
   2. (time)
      1. between
      2. after
      3. every (interval of time)
   3. (causality)
      1. through, by
      2. (attested from 1^st century BCE) out of (materials from which something is made)
2. 1. (of a place, poetic) through, among
   2. (time) during
   3. (causality)
      1. thanks to, by aid of
      2. because of
      3. for the sake of

Derived terms

Descendants

• Greek: για (gia), διά (diá)

Adverb

δῐᾰ́ • (diá)

1. throughout

See also

• ἀπό (apó)

References

Further reading

• “διά”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “διά”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “διά”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• διά in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• διά in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• διά in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “διά”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1223 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • about idem, page 2.
  • account idem, page 7.
  • across idem, page 9.
  • agency idem, page 18.
  • aid idem, page 20.
  • along idem, page 25.
  • because of idem, page 68.
  • consequence idem, page 162.
  • course idem, page 178.
  • dint idem, page 225.
  • during idem, page 256.
  • fly idem, page 331.
  • for idem, page 334.
  • help idem, page 395.
  • instrumentality idem, page 447.
  • interval idem, page 453.
  • owing to idem, page 587.
  • reason idem, page 676.
  • sake idem, page 732.
  • skim idem, page 780.
  • slip idem, page 784.
  • through idem, page 871.
  • throughout idem, page 871.

Greek

Alternative forms

• διά- (diá-) – as prefix
• δια- (dia-) – as prefix
• δι- (di-) – as prefix, before vowel
• δι' (di')

Etymology

Learnedly, from Ancient Greek δῐᾰ́. Doublet of για (gia).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ði̯a/, /ðʝa/ (the accent placed at the word which follows)
• Hyphenation: δι‧ά
• Hyphenation: διά

Preposition

διά • (diá)

1. by, for, through
2. divided by

   Antonym: επί (epí)

   δέκα διά πέντε ίσον δύο

   ten divided by five equals two

3. this is the name of the division symbol

Related terms

• δια- (dia-)
• διαίρεση f (diaíresi, “the division”)
• διαιρώ (diairó, “to divide”, verb)

Further reading

• διά - Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής , 1998, by the "Triantafyllidis" Foundation.