Learn Greek › C1 › άρχω
άρχω
to rule /ˈar.xo/
verbC1#3125 most common
Also: to prevail (govern/hold sway over a place or situation), to begin
Example sentences
Εδώ άρχει ησυχία.
Here, quiet reigns.
Στο σχολείο μας άρχει πειθαρχία.
In our school, discipline prevails.
Στη ζούγκλα άρχει ο νόμος του ισχυρότερου.
In the jungle, the law of the strongest prevails.
Σε περιόδους κρίσης, συχνά άρχει η σύγχυση αντί της λογικής.
In times of crisis, confusion often prevails instead of reason.
Ο τύραννος ήρχε της πόλης με σκληρότητα για είκοσι χρόνια.
The tyrant ruled the city harshly for twenty years.
Οι φιλόσοφοι της αρχαιότητας πίστευαν πως ο νους πρέπει να άρχει των παθών.
The philosophers of antiquity believed that reason must rule over the passions.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | άρχω | ήρξα | θα άρξω |
| 2sg | άρχεις | ήρξες | θα άρξεις |
| 3sg | άρχει | ήρξε | θα άρξει |
| 1pl | άρχουμε | ήρξαμε | θα άρξουμε |
| 2pl | άρχετε | ήρξατε | θα άρξετε |
| 3pl | άρχουν | ήρξαν | θα άρξουν |
Word family
αρχήbeginning; rule, authorityάρχονταςruler, lord, notableαρχηγόςleader, chiefαρχίζωto start, to begin (the everyday word)
αναρχίαanarchy, absence of rule
Etymology
Ancient Greek ἄρχω meant both "to be first, to begin" and "to rule, to lead," the two senses linked by the idea of taking the first or leading position. Its ultimate origin is disputed. Many linguists treat it as a word without a secure Indo-European root, possibly from a pre-Greek substrate. Through its noun forms αρχή ("beginning, rule") and ἀρχός ("leader"), the root spread widely into other languages via borrowed compounds.
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