δίαιτα

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 10 October 2021

Etymology

PIE word
*dwís

Nominal formation from διαιτάω (diaitáō, “I treat, handle”).^[1]

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /dí.ai̯.ta/ → /ˈði.ɛ.ta/ → /ˈði.e.ta/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /dí.ai̯.ta/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.ɛ.ta/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈði.ɛ.ta/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈði.e.ta/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈði.e.ta/

Noun

δῐ́αιτᾰ • (díaita) f (genitive δῐαίτης); first declension

1. way of living, way of life, mode of life, lifestyle
2. accommodation, residence
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1.p1096a.27:

     ἔτι δ’ ἐπεὶ τἀγαθὸν ἰσαχῶς λέγεται τῷ ὄντι (καὶ γὰρ ἐν τῷ τί λέγεται, οἷον ὁ θεὸς καὶ ὁ νοῦς, καὶ ἐν τῷ ποιῷ αἱ ἀρεταί, καὶ ἐν τῷ ποσῷ τὸ μέτριον, καὶ ἐν τῷ πρός τι τὸ χρήσιμον, καὶ ἐν χρόνῳ καιρός, καὶ ἐν τόπῳ δίαιτα καὶ ἕτερα τοιαῦτα), δῆλον ὡς οὐκ ἂν εἴη κοινόν τι καθόλου καὶ ἕν· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐλέγετ’ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς κατηγορίαις, ἀλλ’ ἐν μιᾷ μόνῃ.

     éti d’ epeì tagathòn isakhôs légetai tôi ónti (kaì gàr en tôi tí légetai, hoîon ho theòs kaì ho noûs, kaì en tôi poiôi hai aretaí, kaì en tôi posôi tò métrion, kaì en tôi prós ti tò khrḗsimon, kaì en khrónōi kairós, kaì en tópōi díaita kaì hétera toiaûta), dêlon hōs ouk àn eíē koinón ti kathólou kaì hén; ou gàr àn eléget’ en pásais taîs katēgoríais, all’ en miâi mónēi.

   1. dwelling, abode
   2. refuge, retreat, lair of an animal
   3. a room (separate part of a building, enclosed by walls, a floor, and a ceiling)
3. (medicine) prescribed manner of life, health regimen
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, On Regimen 1.1
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, On Regimen in Acute Diseases 3
   • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 404a:

     Ἀλλ’, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ὑπνώδης αὕτη γέ τις καὶ σφαλερὰ πρὸς ὑγίειαν. ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅτι καθεύδουσί τε τὸν βίον καί, ἐὰν σμικρὰ ἐκβῶσιν τῆς τεταγμένης διαίτης, μεγάλα καὶ σφόδρα νοσοῦσιν οὗτοι οἱ ἀσκηταί;

     All’, ên d’ egṓ, hupnṓdēs haútē gé tis kaì sphalerà pròs hugíeian. ḕ oukh horâis hóti katheúdousí te tòn bíon kaí, eàn smikrà ekbôsin tês tetagménēs diaítēs, megála kaì sphódra nosoûsin hoûtoi hoi askētaí?

4. state, condition, situation
   • 1 CE – 100 CE, Aretaeus, De Causis et Signis Diuturnorum Morborum 2.4.6
5. sustenance, food
   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Olympian Ode 2.65:

     κεινὰν παρὰ δίαιταν: ἀλλὰ παρὰ μὲν τιμίοις / θεῶν, οἵτινες ἔχαιρον εὐορκίαις, ἄδακρυν νέμονται / αἰῶνα: τοὶ δ’ ἀπροσόρατον ὀκχέοντι πόνον / ὅσοι δ’ ἐτόλμασαν ἐστρὶς / ἑκατέρωθι μείναντες ἀπὸ πάμπαν ἀδίκων ἔχειν

     keinàn parà díaitan: allà parà mèn timíois / theôn, hoítines ékhairon euorkíais, ádakrun némontai / aiôna: toì d’ aprosóraton okkhéonti pónon / hósoi d’ etólmasan estrìs / hekatérōthi meínantes apò pámpan adíkōn ékhein

   • Athenodor., Tars. 3
6. (at Athens and elsewhere) arbitration
   • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Electra 1070–1073:

     ὅτι σφὶν ἤδη τὰ μὲν ἐκ δόμων νοσεῖ δή,/ τὰ δὲ πρὸς τέκνων διπλῆ φύλοπις οὐκέτ’ ἐξισοῦται/ φιλοτασίῳ διαίτᾳ·

     hóti sphìn ḗdē tà mèn ek dómōn noseî dḗ,/ tà dè pròs téknōn diplê phúlopis oukét’ exisoûtai/ philotasíōi diaítāi;

   • 440 BCE – 390 BCE, Andocides, Myst. 87
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes 24.56
   • 445 BCE – 380 BCE, Lysias, Collected Works 25.16
   • 436 BCE – 338 BCE, Isocrates, Collected Works 18.13
   1. the office of arbiter
7. discussion, investigation, enquiry, research
   • 64 BCE – 24 CE, Strabo, Geography 1.1.7:

     ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν μακροτέρας ἐστὶ διαίτης.

     allà taûta mèn makrotéras estì diaítēs.

   • 64 BCE – 24 CE, Strabo, Geography 15.1.10:

     ἐποιησάμεθα δ’ ἡμεῖς καὶ ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις λόγοις τοῖς περὶ γεωγραφίας δίαιταν ἣν δυνατὸν ἦν περὶ τούτων, καὶ νῦν ἐκείνοις τε ἐξ ἑτοίμου χρησόμεθα καὶ ἕτερα προσθήσομεν, ὅσων ἂν δεῖν δόξηι πρὸς τὴν σαφήνειαν.

     epoiēsámetha d’ hēmeîs kaì en toîs prṓtois lógois toîs perì geōgraphías díaitan hḕn dunatòn ên perì toútōn, kaì nûn ekeínois te ex hetoímou khrēsómetha kaì hétera prosthḗsomen, hósōn àn deîn dóxēi pròs tḕn saphḗneian.

Declension

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ δῐ́αιτᾰ hē díaita	τὼ δῐαίτᾱ tṑ diaítā	αἱ δῐ́αιται hai díaitai
Genitive	τῆς δῐαίτης tês diaítēs	τοῖν δῐαίταιν toîn diaítain	τῶν δῐαιτῶν tôn diaitôn
Dative	τῇ δῐαίτῃ têi diaítēi	τοῖν δῐαίταιν toîn diaítain	ταῖς δῐαίταις taîs diaítais
Accusative	τὴν δῐ́αιτᾰν tḕn díaitan	τὼ δῐαίτᾱ tṑ diaítā	τᾱ̀ς δῐαίτᾱς tā̀s diaítās
Vocative	δῐ́αιτᾰ díaita	δῐαίτᾱ diaítā	δῐ́αιται díaitai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First declension of ἡ δῐ́αιτᾰ; τῆς δῐαίτης (Attic)

Derived terms

• ἁβροδίαιτος (habrodíaitos)
• δῐαιτάρχης (diaitárkhēs)
• δῐαίτημᾰ (diaítēma)
• δῐαιτημᾰτώδης (diaitēmatṓdēs)
• δῐαιτήσιμος (diaitḗsimos)
• δῐαίτησῐς (diaítēsis)
• δῐαιτητέον (diaitētéon)
• δῐαιτητήρῐον (diaitētḗrion)
• δῐαιτητής (diaitētḗs)
• δῐαιτητῐκόν (diaitētikón)
• δῐαιτητῐκός (diaitētikós)
• δῐαιτητός (diaitētós)
• δῐαιτοχορηγῐ́ᾱ (diaitokhorēgíā)
• δῐαίτωμᾰ (diaítōma)
• ἰσοδίαιτος (isodíaitos)

 

Related terms

• δῐαιτάριος (diaitários)
• δῐαιτάω (diaitáō)

Descendants

• Greek: δίαιτα (díaita)
• → Latin: diaeta, dieta

References

1. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “δίαιτα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 327-8

Further reading

• “δίαιτα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “δίαιτα”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• δίαιτα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• δίαιτα in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “δίαιτα”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • arbitration idem, page 38.
  • board idem, page 86.
  • diet idem, page 222.
  • entertainment idem, page 277.
  • food idem, page 333.
  • intercession idem, page 449.
  • interposition idem, page 452.
  • intervention idem, page 453.
  • life idem, page 489.
  • manner idem, page 512.
  • mediation idem, page 521.
  • mode idem, page 537.
  • private idem, page 642.
  • regime idem, page 687.
  • regimen idem, page 687.
  • routine idem, page 723.

Greek

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δίαιτα (díaita).

Noun

δίαιτα • (díaita) f (plural δίαιτες)

1. (nutrition) diet, as in the food eaten or in the description of low-calorie foods
2. an assembly of representatives on national issues in some countries

   H Δίαιτα της Iαπωνίας είναι το εθνικό νομοθετικό σώμα της Ιαπωνίας.

   H Díaita tis Iaponías eínai to ethnikó nomothetikó sóma tis Iaponías.

   The National Diet of Japan is the national legislature of Japan.

3. fast, low calorie diet

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	δίαιτα •	δίαιτες •
genitive	δίαιτας •	διαιτών •
accusative	δίαιτα •	δίαιτες •
vocative	δίαιτα •	δίαιτες •

Declension of δίαιτα

Related terms

• διαιτολόγος m or f (diaitológos, “dietitian”)
• διαιτητική f (diaititikí, “dietetics”)
• διαιτολόγιο n (diaitológio, “diet”)

See also

• διατροφή f (diatrofí, “nutrition”)
• διαιτητεύω (diaititévo, “to arbitrate”)
• νηστεία f (nisteía, “fast”)

Further reading

• δίαιτα, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language