διάνοια

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• δῐᾰνοιĭ̈́ᾱ (dianoiḯā) — Aeolic
• δῐᾰνοίᾱ (dianoíā) — poetic

Etymology

δια- (dia-, “across, through”) +‎ νόος (nóos, “mind”) +‎ -ια (-ia, abstract noun forming suffix). Compare διανοέομαι (dianoéomai).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /di.á.noi̯.a/ → /ðiˈa.ny.a/ → /ðiˈa.ni.a/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /di.á.noi̯.a/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /diˈa.ny.a/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ðiˈa.ny.a/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ðiˈa.ny.a/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ðiˈa.ni.a/

Noun

δῐᾰ́νοιᾰ • (diánoia) f (genitive δῐᾰνοίᾱς); first declension (Attic, Ionic, Koine)

1. intention, purpose
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.46.2:

     μετὰ ὦν τὴν διάνοιαν ταύτην αὐτίκα ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν μαντείων τῶν τε ἐν Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῦ ἐν Λιβύῃ, διαπέμψας ἄλλους ἄλλῃ, τοὺς μὲν ἐς Δελφοὺς ἰέναι, τοὺς δὲ ἐς Ἄβας τὰς Φωκέων, τοὺς δὲ ἐς Δωδώνην

     metà ôn tḕn diánoian taútēn autíka apepeirâto tôn manteíōn tôn te en Héllēsi kaì toû en Libúēi, diapémpsas állous állēi, toùs mèn es Delphoùs iénai, toùs dè es Ábas tàs Phōkéōn, toùs dè es Dōdṓnēn

2. process of thinking
   • 360 BCE, Plato, The Sophist 263e:

     οὐκοῦν διάνοια μὲν καὶ λόγος ταὐτόν: πλὴν ὁ μὲν ἐντὸς τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς αὑτὴν διάλογος ἄνευ φωνῆς γιγνόμενος τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ ἡμῖν ἐπωνομάσθη, διάνοια;

     oukoûn diánoia mèn kaì lógos tautón: plḕn ho mèn entòs tês psukhês pròs hautḕn diálogos áneu phōnês gignómenos toût’ autò hēmîn epōnomásthē, diánoia?

3. capacity of thought: intelligence, understanding
   • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 511d:

     διάνοιαν δὲ καλεῖν μοι δοκεῖς τὴν τῶν γεωμετρικῶν τε καὶ τὴν τῶν τοιούτων ἕξιν ἀλλ’ οὐ νοῦν, ὡς μεταξύ τι δόξης τε καὶ νοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν οὖσαν.

     diánoian dè kaleîn moi dokeîs tḕn tôn geōmetrikôn te kaì tḕn tôn toioútōn héxin all’ ou noûn, hōs metaxú ti dóxēs te kaì noû tḕn diánoian oûsan.

     You seem to call the habit of geometers and others like them understanding and not reason, as understanding is something intermediate between reason and opinion.

Declension

First declension of ἡ δῐᾰ́νοιᾰ; τῆς δῐᾰνοίᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ δῐᾰ́νοιᾰ hē diánoia	τὼ δῐᾰνοίᾱ tṑ dianoíā	αἱ δῐᾰ́νοιαι hai diánoiai
Genitive	τῆς δῐᾰνοίᾱς tês dianoíās	τοῖν δῐᾰνοίαιν toîn dianoíain	τῶν δῐᾰνοιῶν tôn dianoiôn
Dative	τῇ δῐᾰνοίᾳ têi dianoíāi	τοῖν δῐᾰνοίαιν toîn dianoíain	ταῖς δῐᾰνοίαις taîs dianoíais
Accusative	τὴν δῐᾰ́νοιᾰν tḕn diánoian	τὼ δῐᾰνοίᾱ tṑ dianoíā	τᾱ̀ς δῐᾰνοίᾱς tā̀s dianoíās
Vocative	δῐᾰ́νοιᾰ diánoia	δῐᾰνοίᾱ dianoíā	δῐᾰ́νοιαι diánoiai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: διάνοια (diánoia)

Further reading

• “διάνοια”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• διάνοια in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• διάνοια in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • bearing idem, page 67.
  • comprehension idem, page 153.
  • design idem, page 215.
  • determination idem, page 219.
  • drift idem, page 252.
  • fancy idem, page 306.
  • force idem, page 335.
  • idea idem, page 413.
  • imagination idem, page 416.
  • import idem, page 422.
  • intelligence idem, page 448.
  • intention idem, page 449.
  • meaning idem, page 520.
  • mind idem, page 530.
  • notion idem, page 562.
  • plan idem, page 617.
  • point idem, page 623.
  • purport idem, page 659.
  • purpose idem, page 659.
  • resolve idem, page 702.
  • scheme idem, page 739.
  • sense idem, page 752.
  • significance idem, page 775.
  • spirit idem, page 802.
  • tenor idem, page 862.
  • thought idem, page 868.
  • understanding idem, page 913.
  • will idem, page 979.
  • wit idem, page 983.
• “διάνοια”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011