What does the Greek word logos mean in various contexts? This article will cover the meaning of logos and how to use it.
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Kevin
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March 11, 2022
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Common Questions
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How can the word logos be used in theology and rhetoric? Is logos singular or plural?
This article will cover not only the meaning of the word logos, but also its etymology, translations of the word logos, and synonyms. Let’s dive in!
What Does Logos Mean?
According to Britannica, logos is used in ancient Greek philosophy and Christian theology. This word refers to divine reason implicit in the universe or cosmos, providing order, form, and meaning. The pronunciation of logos is ˈlɒɡɒs.
Logos birthed the idea that Jesus Christ is the principle of God that helps structure the universe. In many books of the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments, logos is the word of the Lord or the word of God. Logos is present in many philosophies, including Jewish philosophy, Hellenistic Judaism, and more.
In Christianity, logos is found in the Gospel of John when speaking of creation and revelation. Creation refers to the source of life. In the prologue of the John’s Gospel, the Greek logos is used by God to speak the world into existence.
According to Collins English Dictionary, the Greek term logos is also one of the rhetorical modes of persuasion created by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Logos refers to an argument that uses logic for apparent proof.
Ethos refers to an argument based on ethics or moral character, and pathos refers to an argument based on feelings or emotions. Logos arguments are based on the Greek idea of rational principle and use the audience’s sense of human reasoning to persuade them.
Logos is also the plural of the word logo, which is an icon or symbol that represents a business or brand. This design is often part of a larger branding scheme that represents the company in advertisements, on products, and more.
What Is the Origin of the Word Logos?
Lógos is a Greek term coined by Greek philosophers that means reason or word. Logos is not only present in Christianity but also in Persian, Egyptian, and Indian theologies. The philosopher Heraclitus created this philosophy in the 6th century BCE.
The Stoics also believed that God, nature, providence, and the universe were the logoi that created the spiritual and rational principles of reality. Philo of Alexandria also influenced the use of the concept of logos.
How Can Logos Be Used in a Sentence?
As we’ve seen, the word logos has three definitions. Therefore, it can be used in three different ways in a sentence. To learn how to use the word logos in these different ways, you can study the example sentences below.
It is important to be able to discern the ways that the term logos can be used in a sentence based on context clues.
Example #1: Logos in Theology
They studied the concept of logos in the Christian theology class.
Example #2: Logos as a Rhetorical Concept
She used logos in her argument while he used pathos, and the audience preferred her argument.
Example #3: Logos as a Plural Noun
The company’s marketing team decided between the different logos that were presented.
What Are Translations of Logos?
Since the word logos comes directly from Greek, it is represented in many different languages. You might wonder why many of these translations of logos look similar to the word logos. Since logos is of Greek origin, and many languages have words that come from Greek, it is inevitable that numerous different languages will use variations on this origin in their own translations.
By using this list of translations of the word logos from Nice Translator, you can learn how to discuss the concept of logos with people all over the world.
- Croatian: logotipa
- Korean: 로고
- Japanese: ロゴ
- Chinese (PRC): 徽标
- Dutch: logos
- Kannada: ಲೋಗೊಗಳು
- Malayalam: ലോഗോകൾ
- Ukrainian: логотипи
- Portuguese (Brazil): Logos
- Marathi: लोगो
- Danish: logoer
- Bulgarian: Логос
- Polish: logo.
- Slovak: logá
- Filipino: Logos
- Tamil: லோகோக்கள்
- Chinese (Taiwan): 徽標
- Hindi: लोगो
- Greek: λογότυπα
- Finnish: logot
- Russian: логотипы
- Gujarati: લોગોઝ
- Vietnamese: logo.
- Portuguese (Portugal): Logos
- Telugu: లోగోలు
- Serbian: логотип
- Turkish: logolar
- Bengali: লোগো
- Spanish: logotipos
- Latvian: logotipi
- Czech: loga
- Romanian: logos
- Estonian: logod
- Welsh: logos
- Hungarian: logók
- Hebrew: לוגו
- Thai: โลโก้
- Italian: loghi
- Malay: logo
- Basque: logotipo
- Swedish: logotyper
- Catalan: logotips
- Norwegian: Logoer
- Amharic: ሎጎስ
- German: Logos
- Urdu: علامات
- Arabic: شعارات
- French: logos
What Are Synonyms of the Word Logos?
Since logos can have numerous different meanings, it can be useful to know various synonyms like the ones listed below from Power Thesaurus. If you believe that someone might be confused by your usage of the term logos, you can opt to use a synonym of logos instead.
- anima mundi
- badges
- brand
- brands
- crests
- cues
- emblem
- emblems
- finger posts
- guideposts
- indications
- infinite spirit
- labels
- logotype
- logotypes
- markers
- marks
- nous
- oversoul
- registered trademarks
- signals
- signposts
- signs
- son
- sons
- supreme principle
- supreme soul
- symbol
- symbols
- tags
- tickets
- tokens
- trade names
- trademarks
- universal ego
- universal life force
- word
- world principle
- world soul
- world spirit
- world-self
Conclusion
The definition of logos is the divine reason that is implicit in the universe, which gives it order, form, and meaning. The Greek word logos means word and reason. Logos is also one of three rhetorical and literary devices created by Aristotle for oration and persuasion.
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