Faith & RitualGreek → English
Ecclesiastes
/ɪˌkliːziˈæstiːz/noun
The Old Testament book on futility and vanity, and the title of the speaker in it.
The Greek roots
ἐκκλησιαστής
ekklēsiastḗs
speaker in the assembly
Literally: “one who addresses the assembly”
Follow a root:ἐκκλησιαστής1 word
The story of the word
The Septuagint translators chose it for the Hebrew Qoheleth, built on a root meaning to gather, so the Greek keeps the sense of someone who convenes a crowd and speaks to it. Ekklēsia in Athens was the citizen assembly meeting on the Pnyx, a political body centuries before it meant church. That drift is why a French church is an église and a Spanish one an iglesia.
- How it travelled
- Hebrew → Ancient Greek → Latin → English
Same family
ecclesiasticalecclesiologyecclesia
In a sentence
He read the passage from Ecclesiastes about a time for every purpose, and half the room mouthed along.