τέλος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *kʷélos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷél-os ~ *kʷél-es-, probably related to Classical Persian ته (tah, “final”). See Latin colō for more.

Similar to τέλλω (téllō), τέλος (télos) may come from three roots, Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to turn, completion”), *kʷel- (“to swarm, crowd”) and *telh₂- (“to bear, burden”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /té.los/ → /ˈte.los/ → /ˈte.los/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /té.los/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈte.los/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈte.los/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈte.los/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈte.los/

Noun

τέλος • (télos) n (genitive τέλους or τέλεος); third declension

1. completion, maturity, accomplishment, fulfillment, perfection, consummation
2. result, product
3. end
4. end of life: death
5. boundary, border, extremity
6. supreme power
7. the highest government office: magistrate
8. that which is ordered to be done: task, duty
9. money paid to the government: tax, toll
10. a person's property, according to which he was classed
11. thus, generally: rank, class
12. unit of soldiers: legion, company
13. initiation (especially into mystery religions)
14. mystery religion
15. any religious ceremony

Declension

Third declension of τὸ τέλος; τοῦ τέλους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ τέλος tò télos	τὼ τέλει tṑ télei	τᾰ̀ τέλη tà télē
Genitive	τοῦ τέλους toû télous	τοῖν τελοῖν toîn teloîn	τῶν τελῶν tôn telôn
Dative	τῷ τέλει tôi télei	τοῖν τελοῖν toîn teloîn	τοῖς τέλεσῐ / τέλεσῐν toîs télesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ τέλος tò télos	τὼ τέλει tṑ télei	τᾰ̀ τέλη tà télē
Vocative	τέλος télos	τέλει télei	τέλη télē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• -τελής (-telḗs)
  Category Ancient Greek terms prefixed with -τελής not found

• ἀκροτελεύτιον (akroteleútion)
• ἀλυσιτελής (alusitelḗs)
• Ἀριστοτέλης (Aristotélēs)
• ἀτέλεια (atéleia)
• ἀτελής (atelḗs)
• αὐτοτελής (autotelḗs)
• δημοτελής (dēmotelḗs)
• διατελής (diatelḗs)
• ἐκτελής (ektelḗs)
• ἐντελής (entelḗs)
• ἐπιτελής (epitelḗs)
• εὐτελής (eutelḗs)
• ἡμιτελής (hēmitelḗs)
• ἰσοτελής (isotelḗs)
• λυσιτελής (lusitelḗs)
• νεοτελής (neotelḗs)
• ὁλοτελής (holotelḗs)
• παντελής (pantelḗs)
• πολυτελής (polutelḗs)
• Πραξιτέλης (Praxitélēs)
• προτελής (protelḗs)
• συντελής (suntelḗs)
• τέλειος (téleios)
• Τελεσφόρος (Telesphóros)
• τελεσφόρος (telesphóros)
• τελέω (teléō)
• τελήεις (telḗeis)
• τελικός (telikós)
• ὑπερεντελής (huperentelḗs)
• ὑπερτελής (hupertelḗs)
• ὑποτελής (hupotelḗs)

 

expressions:

• τέλη λύειν (télē lúein, “pay one's dues”)

Related terms

• κύκλος (kúklos)
• πάλαι (pálai)
• πάλιν (pálin)
• πέλω (pélō)
• πόλος (pólos)
• τέλλω (téllō)
• τῆλε (têle)

 

Descendants

• Greek: τέλος (télos)
• → English: telos
• → English: teleology

Further reading

• “τέλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “τέλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “τέλος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• τέλος 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
• τέλος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “τέλος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G5056 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • accomplishment idem, page 6.
  • ceremony idem, page 122.
  • cessation idem, page 122.
  • close idem, page 138.
  • completion idem, page 152.
  • conclusion idem, page 156.
  • consequence idem, page 162.
  • consummation idem, page 166.
  • culmination idem, page 188.
  • customs idem, page 192.
  • division idem, page 244.
  • due idem, page 255.
  • duty idem, page 257.
  • effect idem, page 262.
  • end idem, page 272.
  • event idem, page 285.
  • eventually idem, page 285.
  • excise idem, page 289.
  • expiration idem, page 294.
  • finality idem, page 320.
  • finally idem, page 320.
  • finish idem, page 321.
  • fulfilment idem, page 348.
  • function idem, page 349.
  • goal idem, page 365.
  • impost idem, page 423.
  • issue idem, page 461.
  • last idem, page 477.
  • legion idem, page 484.
  • office idem, page 571.
  • perfection idem, page 607.
  • period idem, page 607.
  • rate idem, page 673.
  • result idem, page 706.
  • rite idem, page 718.
  • royalty idem, page 724.
  • run idem, page 726.
  • sequel idem, page 754.
  • service idem, page 755.
  • squadron idem, page 807.
  • task idem, page 856.
  • tax idem, page 857.
  • termination idem, page 863.
  • toll idem, page 880.
  • troop idem, page 896.
  • ultimately idem, page 905.
  • worship idem, page 990.
• “τέλος”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

Greek

Etymology

Inherited from Ancient Greek τέλος (télos). Sense "tax, dues", learnedly from Ancient Greek τέλος (télos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈte.los/
• Hyphenation: τέ‧λος

Noun

τέλος • (télos) n (plural τέλη)

1. end, finish

   Θα έρθω στο τέλος του μήνα. ― Tha értho sto télos tou mína. ― I will come at the end of the month.

   το τέλος του κόσμου ― to télos tou kósmou ― the end of the world

2. tax, dues paid to the government for specific public service, or product

   τέλος ακίνητης περιουασίας (ΤΑΠ) ― télos akínitis periouasías (TAP) ― tax of real estate

Declension

Declension of τέλος

	singular	plural
nominative	τέλος •	τέλη •
genitive	τέλους •	τελών •
accusative	τέλος •	τέλη •
vocative	τέλος •	τέλη •

Related terms

• -τέλεια (-téleia)
• -τελής (-telís)
• ασυντέλεστος (asyntélestos, “incomplete”, adjective)
• ατελέσφορος (atelésforos, “ineffective”, adjective)
• ατελής (atelís, “imperfect, tax-free”, adjective)
• ατελώς (atelós, “postage free”, adverb)
• εντελώς (entelós, “completely”)
• επιτέλους (epitélous, “at last”)
• τελεία f (teleía, “full stop, period”)
• τελειοποίηση f (teleiopoíisi)
• τελειοποιώ (teleiopoió, “to perfect”)
• τέλειος (téleios, “perfect”)
• τελειότητα f (teleiótita, “perfection”)
• τελειώνω (teleióno, “to finish”)
• τελειωτικός f (teleiotikós, “perfection”)
• τελεολογικός (teleologikós, “teleological”)
• τελετή f (teletí, “ceremony”)
• τελευταίος (teleftaíos, “last”)
• τελευτώ (teleftó, “to die”)
• τελώ (teló, “perform”)
• τελωνείο n (teloneío, “custom house”)
• τελώνιο n (telónio, “evil spirit”)

See also

• αρχή f (archí, “beginning”)

Further reading

• τέλος on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el