τε

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Ancient Greek

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Alternative forms

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  • θ’ (th’)apocopic before a rough breathing
  • τ’ (t’)apocopic before a smooth breathing

Etymology

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From Proto-Hellenic *kʷe, from Proto-Indo-European *-kʷe (and). Cognates include Mycenaean Greek 𐀤 (qe), Sanskrit (ca), and Latin -que.[1]

Pronunciation

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Particle

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τε (te)

  1. (combined with καί) both

Conjunction

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τε (te)

  1. and, also or untranslatable
    1. (after each item in a list) and
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.544:
        Τὴν δ’ ἠμείβετ’ ἔπειτα πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε·
        Tḕn d’ ēmeíbet’ épeita patḕr andrôn te theôn te;
        Then the father of men and gods answered her:
    2. (combined with καί (kaí), untranslatable)
      • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 75d:
        εἰ δὲ ὥσπερ ἐγώ τε καὶ σὺ νυνὶ φίλοι ὄντες βούλοιντο ἀλλήλοις διαλέγεσθαι, δεῖ δὴ πρᾳότερόν πως καὶ διαλεκτικώτερον ἀποκρίνεσθαι.
        ei dè hṓsper egṓ te kaì sù nunì phíloi óntes boúlointo allḗlois dialégesthai, deî dḕ prāióterón pōs kaì dialektikṓteron apokrínesthai.
        But if, like you and I now, they were friends and chose to converse together, it is appropriate to answer in a somewhat more easygoing and conversational manner.
      • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Anabasis 1.2.7:
        ἐνταῦθα Κύρῳ βασίλεια ἦν καὶ παράδεισος μέγας ἀγρίων θηρίων πλήρης, ἃ ἐκεῖνος ἐθήρευεν ἀπὸ ἵππου, ὁπότε γυμνάσαι βούλοιτο ἑαυτόν τε καὶ τοὺς ἵππους.
        entaûtha Kúrōi basíleia ên kaì parádeisos mégas agríōn thēríōn plḗrēs, hà ekeînos ethḗreuen apò híppou, hopóte gumnásai boúloito heautón te kaì toùs híppous.
        There Cyrus had a palace and a large garden full of wild animals, which he would hunt from a horse, whenever he wanted to exercise himself and his horses.

Usage notes

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τε (te) is usually considered to denote a weaker connection than καί (kaí). As an enclitic, it is placed after the word that it connects, or after the first word of a phrase that it connects:

  • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.7:
    [Ἀτρεΐδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν] καὶ [ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς ]
    [Atreḯdēs te ánax andrôn] kaì [ dîos Akhilleús ]
    [the son of Atreus, lord of men,] and [noble Achilles]

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “τε”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1457

Further reading

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