ἀρχή

See also: αρχή and ἀρχῇ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἄρχω (árkhō, “to begin, to be first in order”) +‎ -η (-ē, verbal noun suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ar.kʰɛ̌ː/ → /arˈçi/ → /arˈçi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ar.kʰɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /arˈkʰe̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /arˈçi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /arˈçi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /arˈçi/

Noun

ᾰ̓ρχή • (ărkhḗ) f (genitive ᾰ̓ρχῆς); first declension

1. beginning, origin
   • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Septuagint, Genesis 1.1:

     Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.

     En arkhêi epoíēsen ho theòs tòn ouranòn kaì tḕn gên.

     In the beginning, God made the sky and the earth.

   • 50 CE – 100 CE, The Gospel of John 1:1:

     Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

     En arkhêi ên ho lógos, kaì ho lógos ên pròs tòn theón, kaì theòs ên ho lógos.

     In the beginning, there was the word, and the word was with God, and God was the word.

2. sovereignty, dominion, authority
3. the end of a rope or stick, the corner of a sheet
   • New Testament, Acts of the Apostles 10:11:

     [Πέτρος] θεωρεῖ […] ὀθόνην μεγάλην, τέσσαρσιν ἀρχαῖς δεδεμένον, καὶ καθιέμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

     [Pétros] theōreî […] othónēn megálēn, téssarsin arkhaîs dedeménon, kaì kathiémenon epì tês gês

     [Peter] beholds […] a great sheet, tied by four corners, and being let down on the earth.

Declension

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓ρχή; τῆς ᾰ̓ρχῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓ρχή hē ărkhḗ	τὼ ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ tṑ ărkhā́	αἱ ᾰ̓ρχαί hai ărkhaí
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓ρχῆς tês ărkhês	τοῖν ᾰ̓ρχαῖν toîn ărkhaîn	τῶν ᾰ̓ρχῶν tôn ărkhôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓ρχῇ têi ărkhêi	τοῖν ᾰ̓ρχαῖν toîn ărkhaîn	ταῖς ᾰ̓ρχαῖς taîs ărkhaîs
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓ρχήν tḕn ărkhḗn	τὼ ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ tṑ ărkhā́	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ς tā̀s ărkhā́s
Vocative	ᾰ̓ρχή ărkhḗ	ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ ărkhā́	ᾰ̓ρχαί ărkhaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First declension of ᾱ̔ ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́; τᾶς ᾰ̓ρχᾶς (Doric)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ᾱ̔ ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ hā ărkhā́	τὼ ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ tṑ ărkhā́	ταὶ ᾰ̓ρχαί taì ărkhaí
Genitive	τᾶς ᾰ̓ρχᾶς tâs ărkhâs	τοῖν ᾰ̓ρχαῖν toîn ărkhaîn	τᾶν ᾰ̓ρχᾶν tân ărkhân
Dative	τᾷ ᾰ̓ρχᾷ tâi ărkhâi	τοῖν ᾰ̓ρχαῖν toîn ărkhaîn	ταῖς ᾰ̓ρχαῖς taîs ărkhaîs
Accusative	τᾱ̀ν ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ν tā̀n ărkhā́n	τὼ ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ tṑ ărkhā́	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ς tā̀s ărkhā́s
Vocative	ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ ărkhā́	ᾰ̓ρχᾱ́ ărkhā́	ᾰ̓ρχαί ărkhaí
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ᾰ̓ρχαῖος (ărkhaîos)
• ἀρχεῖον (arkheîon)
• -ᾰ́ρχης (-ắrkhēs)
• Ἀρχέτῑμος (Arkhétīmos)

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲁⲣⲭⲏ (arkhē)
• Greek: αρχή (archí)

Further reading

• “ἀρχή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀρχή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἀρχή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἀρχή 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
• ἀρχή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἀρχή in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• G746 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• ἀρχή 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^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • authority idem, page 53.
  • birth idem, page 79.
  • cause idem, page 118.
  • chieftainship idem, page 129.
  • command idem, page 146.
  • commencement idem, page 147.
  • control idem, page 170.
  • corporation idem, page 174.
  • crown idem, page 186.
  • dawn idem, page 197.
  • derivation idem, page 214.
  • direction idem, page 226.
  • dominance idem, page 247.
  • domination idem, page 247.
  • dominion idem, page 247.
  • element idem, page 265.
  • empire idem, page 269.
  • foundation idem, page 341.
  • fountain idem, page 341.
  • germ idem, page 357.
  • government idem, page 368.
  • governorship idem, page 368.
  • ground idem, page 375.
  • ground-work idem, page 375.
  • head idem, page 389.
  • headship idem, page 391.
  • inception idem, page 427.
  • kingdom idem, page 470.
  • kingship idem, page 470.
  • lordship idem, page 500.
  • magistracy idem, page 507.
  • making idem, page 509.
  • mastery idem, page 517.
  • might idem, page 528.
  • nucleus idem, page 562.
  • office idem, page 571.
  • opening idem, page 576.
  • origin idem, page 579.
  • outset idem, page 583.
  • power idem, page 630.
  • principality idem, page 641.
  • principle idem, page 641.
  • realm idem, page 676.
  • reign idem, page 688.
  • rise idem, page 717.
  • root idem, page 721.
  • royalty idem, page 724.
  • rudiment idem, page 724.
  • rule idem, page 725.
  • sceptre idem, page 738.
  • seed idem, page 749.
  • source idem, page 797.
  • sovereignty idem, page 797.
  • spring idem, page 805.
  • start idem, page 811.
  • starting point idem, page 812.
  • strength idem, page 824.
  • supremacy idem, page 842.
  • supreme idem, page 842.
  • tenure idem, page 862.
  • territory idem, page 863.
  • threshold idem, page 870.
  • throne idem, page 870.
• ἀρχή, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011