στόχος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain.

Beekes tentatively derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *stegʰ- (“bar, pillar, rod”), and compares Proto-Balto-Slavic *stagas, whence Proto-Slavic *stogъ (“haystack”) and Lithuanian stãgaras (“long thin stalk”), as well as Proto-Germanic *stangō (“bar, rod, stake”).

Other theories compare the word with στοῖχος (stoîkhos, “row in an ascending series, column”), στίχος (stíkhos, “row or file of soldiers, line of poetry, verse”), from στείχω (steíkhō, “walk, march, go or come, march in line or order”), from Proto-Indo-European *steygʰ- (“to walk”). If from this root, cognate with German steigen; English sty, stair, stile; and possibly Latin vestīgō.

Pronunciation

Noun

στόχος • (stókhos) m (genitive στόχου); second declension

1. pillar of brick
   1. Synonym of στοχάς (stokhás, “an erection of stone or wood for fixing net poles”)
   2. butt, target
   3. aim, aiming
   4. guess, conjecture

Inflection

Derived terms

Related terms

• στοχάζομαι (stokházomai)
  • στοχαστικός (stokhastikós)

Descendants

• Greek: στόχος (stóchos)

References

Further reading

• “στόχος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• στόχος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek στόχος (stókhos).

Noun

στόχος • (stóchos) m (plural στόχοι)

1. (archery) target
2. aim, intent

Declension

Synonyms

• τέρμα n (térma)

Related terms

• στόχαστρο n (stóchastro, “gunsight”)