Adjective – Regular: all parts

SemanticsSemantics: Adjective – Regular (4 – Open scale)

An adjective like πολύς ‘many’ or ‘abundant’ refers to the quantity of something. When we talk about how much of something there is, we implicitly reference a scale of quantity (see Sem A for scales in adjectives):

This scalar adjective could be quantified with numerical values, such as how many coins make up the reward. The sense of πολύς meaning ‘abundant’ refers to something high on the scale of quantity, and the sense of μέγας meaning ‘large’ refers to something high on the scale of size. Both πολύς and μέγας refer to something high on a scale, but the types of scales that they can refer to differ.

Although a scale of quantity and a scale of size are distinct, they share an important property – they are both open scales (see Sem A). This means that these adjectives have no minimum or maximum value. There is, in theory, no limit to how big or abundant something can be. Because of this, the word ‘abundant’ is always interpreted relative to a set of individuals. What qualifies as a μισθός πολύς ‘abundant reward’ is probably much smaller for a peasant than a king because the king would expect more money. Because of this, the king’s comparison set, or the set of individuals that an open scale adjective is compared to, would probably differ from the peasant’s. Thus, open scale adjectives do not refer to a particular size or quantity, but they refer to an amount on a scale that is relative to other things on that scale.

fromLesson 32.2: Adjective – πολύς/μέγας

SemanticsSemantics: Adj – Regular (5 – Closed scale adjectives)

In addition to adjectives that receive an open scale interpretation (see 32.2.3.2), there are also adjectives that are interpreted with a closed scale. For example, the adjective εὐθύς ‘straight’ refers to a closed scale, since there is a defined limit to how straight something can be. When there are zero turns, the object cannot be made straighter.

Once John the Baptist makes the paths ‘straight’ for Jesus, they cannot be made straighter. The fundamental difference between open scale adjectives and closed scale adjectives is that the latter does not have a comparison set. An object can be called big only in relation to other objects, but something is straight in relation to the end of the scale of straightness. Thus, there is in principle no limit to how big something can be, but there is a limit to how straight something can be.

fromLesson 41.2: Noun/Adjective – 3rd Declension -ης

SemanticsSemantics: Adj – Regular (6 – Open vs. closed scale)

Besides being a precise way to describe adjectives of all different sorts, one may ask why we introduced the scalar interpretation of adjectives at all. Many adjectives have different senses based on the nature of the scale, particularly whether the scale is open or closed. To illustrate, the sentence Isaac’s hands are dry is ambiguous. In one reading, Isaac’s hands are currently dry and they are currently not wet. In this reading, dry has a closed scale, since a maximum amount of dryness is referred to, namely not having any liquid on it. In the second reading, Isaac’s hands have the propensity to be dry, i.e. they are not clammy. In this reading, Isaac’s hands can perpetually become drier – they can always develop more cracks. This is an open scale reading of dry because there is no limit to how dry hands can be in this sense. (It is, therefore, more accurate to speak of open or closed scale readings or senses of adjectives rather than open or closed scale adjectives.)

In Greek, δίκαιος represents an exegetically-significant example. It may mean either ‘righteous’ or ‘innocent.’ The meaning of ‘righteous’ refers to someone who is generally good morally:

In Luke 1:6, obeying God’s commandments explains how Zechariah and Elizabeth are δίκαιοι, suggesting that it means they are morally good people. In contrast, δίκαιος also sometimes means something more like ‘innocent’:

In Rom 5:7, to be δίκαιος ‘innocent’ is not as good as being ἀγαθός ‘good,’ since no one would die for the former, but they might die for the latter. When δίκαιος has an open scale (in Luke 1:6), it means to be morally good, since there is no natural maximum to being good. However, when it has a closed scale (in Rom 5:7), δίκαιος means to meet a standard of behavior, or to be ‘innocent’ without having fault (not necessarily good). These examples suggest that δίκαιος is not specified for the type of scale structure. It is compatible with both open-scale and closed-scale interpretations, and its ambiguity in meaning is based on its scalar ambiguity.

fromLesson 42.1: Adjective – -υς