Δραστήριος
effective, efficient, energetic
Translated by Robert Dyer6 Mar 2002Vetting: high3 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] the active/busy man.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Δραστήριος· ὁ περίεργος.
Betacode
*drasth/rios: o( peri/ergos.
Notes
- This adjective (again at delta 1514, q.v., and cf. delta 1512), used by Thucydides for effectiveness in leadership (e.g. 4.81), becomes a favorite in character portrayals of great men by Plutarch (Antonius 42.2, Lucullus 6.2, Nicias 16.9, Pericles 19.3, Phocion 6.3, Timoleon 3.7) and Dionysius of Halicarnassus. It exemplifies well the overtones of the verb
dra/w (delta 1488), from which it is a derivative.
The adjective in the gloss, periergos, has changed its pejorative meaning of classical times to a positive characterization of the active person. (Likewise under phi 402, but contrast e.g. gamma 364.)