διάνοια

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

δῐᾰνοιĭ̈́ᾱ (dĭănoiĭ̈́ā) — Aeolic
δῐᾰνοίᾱ (dĭănoíā) — poetic

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

intention, purpose
Synonym: πρόθεσις (próthesis)
- 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
- 175 CE, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Meditations 5.20:
  Καθ̓ ἕτερον μὲν λόγον ἡμῖν ἐστιν οἰκειότατον ἄνθρωπος, καθ̓ ὅσον εὖ ποιητέον αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀνεκτέον: καθ̓ ὅσον δὲ ἐνίστανταί τινες εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα ἔργα, ἕν τι τῶν ἀδιαφόρων μοι γίνεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ ἥλιος ἢ ἄνεμος ἢ θηρίον. ὑπὸ τούτων δὲ ἐνέργεια μέν τις ἐμποδισθείη ἄν, ὁρμῆς δὲ καὶ διαθέσεως οὐ γίνεται ἐμπόδια διὰ τὴν ὑπεξαίρεσιν καὶ τὴν περιτροπήν. περιτρέπει γὰρ καὶ μεθίστησι πᾶν τὸ τῆς ἐνεργείας κώλυμα ἡ διάνοια εἰς τὸ προηγούμενον καὶ πρὸ ἔργου γίνεται τὸ τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ἐφεκτικὸν καὶ πρὸ ὁδοῦ τὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ ταύτης ἐνστατικόν.
  Kath héteron mèn lógon hēmîn estin oikeiótaton ánthrōpos, kath hóson eû poiētéon autoùs kaì anektéon: kath hóson dè enístantaí tines eis tà oikeîa érga, hén ti tôn adiaphórōn moi gínetai ho ánthrōpos oukh hêsson ḕ hḗlios ḕ ánemos ḕ thēríon. hupò toútōn dè enérgeia mén tis empodistheíē án, hormês dè kaì diathéseōs ou gínetai empódia dià tḕn hupexaíresin kaì tḕn peritropḗn. peritrépei gàr kaì methístēsi pân tò tês energeías kṓluma hē diánoia eis tò proēgoúmenon kaì prò érgou gínetai tò toû érgou toútou ephektikòn kaì prò hodoû tò tês hodoû taútēs enstatikón.
  From one perspective, man is my proper consideration, inasmuch as I must treat well with and endure him. However, so far as some men make of themselves obstacles to my proper actions, man becomes to me an immaterial thing...no less than the sun or wind or a wild animal. Now it is true that such men may impede my action, but they are no impediments to (my) intention and disposition, which have the power of acting conditionally and changing, for the mind converts and changes every hindrance to its activity into an aid; and so that which is a hindrance is made a furtherance to an act, and that which is an obstacle in the way helps me on the way.
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?
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 dĭắnoiă	τὼ δῐᾰνοίᾱ tṑ dĭănoíā	αἱ δῐᾰ́νοιαι hai dĭắnoiai
Genitive	τῆς δῐᾰνοίᾱς tês dĭănoíās	τοῖν δῐᾰνοίαιν toîn dĭănoíain	τῶν δῐᾰνοιῶν tôn dĭănoiôn
Dative	τῇ δῐᾰνοίᾳ têi dĭănoíāi	τοῖν δῐᾰνοίαιν toîn dĭănoíain	ταῖς δῐᾰνοίαις taîs dĭănoíais
Accusative	τὴν δῐᾰ́νοιᾰν tḕn dĭắnoiăn	τὼ δῐᾰνοίᾱ tṑ dĭănoíā	τᾱ̀ς δῐᾰνοίᾱς tā̀s dĭănoíās
Vocative	δῐᾰ́νοιᾰ dĭắnoiă	δῐᾰνοίᾱ dĭănoíā	δῐᾰ́νοιαι dĭắnoiai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

Greek: διάνοια (diánoia)