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. Compare also Proto-Germanic *stakkaz (“haystack”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /stó.kʰos/ → /ˈsto.xos/ → /ˈsto.xos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /stó.kʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsto.kʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsto.xos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsto.xos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsto.xos/

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

Second declension of ὁ στόχος; τοῦ στόχου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ στόχος ho stókhos	τὼ στόχω tṑ stókhō	οἱ στόχοι hoi stókhoi
Genitive	τοῦ στόχου toû stókhou	τοῖν στόχοιν toîn stókhoin	τῶν στόχων tôn stókhōn
Dative	τῷ στόχῳ tôi stókhōi	τοῖν στόχοιν toîn stókhoin	τοῖς στόχοις toîs stókhois
Accusative	τὸν στόχον tòn stókhon	τὼ στόχω tṑ stókhō	τοὺς στόχους toùs stókhous
Vocative	στόχε stókhe	στόχω stókhō	στόχοι stókhoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• εὔστοχος (eústokhos)

Related terms

• στοχάζομαι (stokházomai)
  • στοχαστικός (stokhastikós)

Descendants

• Greek: στόχος (stóchos)

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
• “στόχος”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek στόχος (stókhos).

Noun

στόχος • (stóchos) m (plural στόχοι)

1. (archery) target
2. aim, intent

Declension

Declension of στόχος

	singular	plural
nominative	στόχος (stóchos)	στόχοι (stóchoi)
genitive	στόχου (stóchou)	στόχων (stóchon)
accusative	στόχο (stócho)	στόχους (stóchous)
vocative	στόχε (stóche)	στόχοι (stóchoi)

Synonyms

• τέρμα n (térma)
• σκοπός m (skopós, “aim, target”)

Related terms

• στόχαστρο n (stóchastro, “gunsight”)