Logos
/ˈloʊɡɒs/noun
A principle of reason, ordered thought, discourse, or the divine Word in ancient Greek philosophy and Christian theology.
Did you know?In the Gospel of John, the Logos is identified with the divine creative principle: “the Word” through which all things came to be.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*leg-
“To gather, collect, or put together—an ancestral idea later linked with arranging words and thoughts.”
Proto-Greek
Proto-Greek
*leg-ein
“To gather, count, or speak; the verb that developed into Greek forms meaning “to say.””
8th–5th Century BCE
Ancient Greek
λόγος (lógos)
“Word, speech, account, explanation, calculation, or reason.”
5th Century BCE
Greek
λόγος (lógos)
“In Heraclitean philosophy, the rational principle or ordering structure underlying the cosmos.”
1st Century CE
Koine Greek
ὁ λόγος (ho lógos)
“In the Gospel of John, the divine Word or creative principle through which the world exists.”
17th Century
English
logos
“A philosophical or theological principle of reason, order, or divine expression.”
Modern English
English
logos
“A principle of logical appeal in rhetoric, or a brand symbol in the modern commercial sense.”