κατά

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• κάδ (kád) — Epic, before δέ (dé)
• κατ᾽ — apocope before a vowel with smooth breathing
• καθ᾽ — apocope before a vowel with rough breathing
• κάγ (kág) — apocope before γ

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *kətá, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥-teh₂, from *ḱóm.

Cognate with Hittite 𒅗𒀜𒋫 (katta, “down from, at, with, under”), Tocharian B kätk- (“to lower”) and perhaps Old Welsh cant, Modern Welsh gan (“with”).

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

Pronunciation

Preposition

κᾰτᾰ́ • (katá) (governs the genitive and accusative)

1. 1. against, opposing
   2. into
   3. against
2. 1. downwards
   2. along, through, in
   3. towards
   4. during
   5. for, for the purpose of
   6. according to, in conformity with

Derived terms

• κατα- (kata-, prefix)

Descendants

• Greek: κατά (katá)
• Latin: cata (see there for further descendants)
• English: cata-

Further reading

• “κατά”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “κατά”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “κατά”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• κατά 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
• κατά in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “κατά”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2596 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• κατά in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • about idem, page 2.
  • abuse idem, page 5.
  • accordance idem, page 7.
  • according to idem, page 7.
  • against idem, page 18.
  • agreeably idem, page 20.
  • along idem, page 25.
  • as idem, page 42.
  • base idem, page 64.
  • by idem, page 107.
  • case idem, page 116.
  • concerning idem, page 155.
  • connection idem, page 161.
  • defame idem, page 203.
  • down idem, page 249.
  • facing idem, page 300.
  • for idem, page 334.
  • front idem, page 346.
  • ground idem, page 375.
  • interest idem, page 450.
  • laugh idem, page 478.
  • libel idem, page 487.
  • mock idem, page 537.
  • off idem, page 569.
  • opposite idem, page 576.
  • reference idem, page 684.
  • regard idem, page 686.
  • regarding idem, page 686.
  • respect idem, page 703.
  • revile idem, page 710.
  • scoff idem, page 740.
  • search idem, page 746.
  • through idem, page 871.
  • throughout idem, page 871.
  • under idem, page 912.
  • up idem, page 937.
  • way idem, page 968.
• 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, →ISBN

Greek

Alternative forms

• κατ' (kat')
• καθ' (kath')

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek κᾰτά (katá).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaˈta/

Preposition

κατά • (katá)

1. (with genitive) versus, against

   Antonym: υπέρ (ypér)

   Έγινε έγκλημα κατά της Ελλάδας! ― Égine égklima katá tis Elládas! ― Crimes were committed against Greece!

2. (with accusative) towards

   Το δωμάτιο βλέπει κατά την ανατολή. ― To domátio vlépei katá tin anatolí. ― The room faces towards the east

3. (with accusative) during

   κατά τη διάρκεια του ταξιδιού ― katá ti diárkeia tou taxidioú ― during the trip (literally, “toward the duration of the trip”)

4. (with accusative) around, about, close to

   Θα έρθω κατά τις έξι το απόγευμα. ― Tha értho katá tis éxi to apógevma. ― I will come at about six in the evening.

5. (with accusative) according

   κατά τον Γιώργο ... ― katá ton Giórgo ... ― according to George ...

Synonyms

• (versus): εναντίον (enantíon)
• (according): σύμφωνα (sýmfona)

Derived terms

• κατα- (kata-, prefix)