ἴσος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἶσος (îsos), ἐΐση (eḯsē) — Epic
• ϝίσϝος (wíswos) — Cretan, Arcadocypriot

Etymology

Cretan and Arcadocypriot form suggest Proto-Hellenic *wíswos, perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European *wi- (“to separate”). Compare Vedic Sanskrit विश्व (viśva, “all, every; whole, entire, universal”), Proto-Slavic *vьśь (“all; village”) and English with.

Pronunciation

Adjective

ῐ̓́σος • (ísos) m (feminine ῐ̓́ση, neuter ῐ̓́σον); first/second declension

1. (of size, strength, or number) equal (to), equivalent (to), the same as
   1. (of appearance) like
   2. (with implied reference point) like, similar
   3. (with pronoun) like someone's x
   4. repeated to denote relationship between equal persons or things

      ἴσα πρὸς ἴσα ― ísa pròs ísa ― tit for tat

2. (not comparable, mathematics) equal to ; (in the plural) equal (to each other)
3. (not comparable, geometry, of lines) of equal length; (of shapes) congruent; of equal area
4. just, fair
   1. (comparable, politics) equal in rights, based on equality of rights
   2. (of persons) impartial
   3. neuter plural τὰ ἴσα (tà ísa) as substantive: equal rights, equality
5. (rare) adequate
6. (of land) even, level, flat
   1. neuter singular (τὸ) ἴσον ((tò) íson) as substantive: level ground

      εἰς τὸ ἴσον

      eis tò íson

      (on)to level ground

7. ὡς ἰσαίτατα (hōs isaítata): as equally as possible
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Constitution of the Athenians :

     τοὺς δ’ ἑκατὸν ἄνδρας διανεῖμαι σφᾶς τε αὐτοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τέτταρα μέρη ὡς ἰσαίτατα

     toùs d’ hekatòn ándras dianeîmai sphâs te autoùs kaì toùs állous téttara mérē hōs isaítata

     for the Hundred Men to divide themselves and the others into four divisions as equally as possible

   • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 5.744c:

     τὰς τιμάς τε καὶ ἀρχὰς ὡς ἰσαίτατα τῷ ἀνίσῳ συμμέτρῳ δὲ ἀπολαμβάνοντες

     tàs timás te kaì arkhàs hōs isaítata tôi anísōi summétrōi dè apolambánontes

     receiving honors and offices as equally as possible by the rule of symmetrical inequality

Declension

Synonyms

• (same): αὐτός (autós), ὁμός (homós)

Derived terms

Descendants

• Greek: ίσος (ísos)

Further reading

• “ἴσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἴσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἴσος 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
• “ἴσος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2470 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.
  • analogous idem, page 28.
  • commensurate idem, page 147.
  • corresponding idem, page 176.
  • disinterested idem, page 234.
  • equal idem, page 280.
  • equitable idem, page 280.
  • equivalent to idem, page 281.
  • even idem, page 284.
  • fair idem, page 302.
  • honest idem, page 404.
  • impartial idem, page 419.
  • just idem, page 466.
  • level idem, page 486.
  • like idem, page 491.
  • parallel idem, page 591.
  • right idem, page 714.
  • similar idem, page 776.
  • unbiassed idem, page 908.
  • unprejudiced idem, page 927.
  • upright idem, page 938.