Logos the word definition

This article is about the Greek term logos in philosophy, etc. For the term specifically in Christianity, see Logos (Christianity). For the graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used for identification derived from this Greek term^[1], see Logo.

Logos (, ; Ancient Greek: λόγος, romanized: lógos, lit. ‘word, discourse, or reason’) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Aristotle first systemised the usage of the word, making it one of the three principles of rhetoric. This specific use identifies the word closely to the structure and content of text itself. This specific usage has then been developed through the history of western philosophy and rhetoric.

The word has also been used in different senses along with rhema. Both Plato and Aristotle used the term logos along with rhema to refer to sentences and propositions. It is primarily in this sense the term is also found in religion.

Background[edit]

Ancient Greek: λόγος, romanized: lógos, lit. ‘word, discourse, or reason’ is related to Ancient Greek: λέγω, romanized: légō, lit. ‘I say’ which is cognate with Latin: Legus, lit. ‘law’. The word derives from a Proto-Indo-European root, *leǵ-, which can have the meanings «I put in order, arrange, gather, choose, count, reckon, discern, say, speak». In modern usage, it typically connotes the verbs «account», «measure», «reason» or «discourse».^[2][3]. It is occasionally used in other contexts, such as for «ratio» in mathematics.^[4]

The Purdue Online Writing Lab clarifies that logos is the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning.^[5] In the context of Aristotle’s Rhetoric, logos is one of the three principles of rhetoric and in that specific use it more closely refers to the structure and content of the text itself.^[6]

Origins of the term[edit]

Logos became a technical term in Western philosophy beginning with Heraclitus (c.  535 – c.  475 BC), who used the term for a principle of order and knowledge.^[7] Ancient Greek philosophers used the term in different ways. The sophists used the term to mean discourse. Aristotle applied the term to refer to «reasoned discourse»^[8] or «the argument» in the field of rhetoric, and considered it one of the three modes of persuasion alongside ethos and pathos.^[9] Pyrrhonist philosophers used the term to refer to dogmatic accounts of non-evident matters. The Stoics spoke of the logos spermatikos (the generative principle of the Universe) which foreshadows related concepts in Neoplatonism.^[10]

Within Hellenistic Judaism, Philo (c.  20 BC – c.  50 AD) integrated the term into Jewish philosophy.^[11]
Philo distinguished between logos prophorikos («the uttered word») and the logos endiathetos («the word remaining within»).^[12]

The Gospel of John identifies the Christian Logos, through which all things are made, as divine (theos),^[13] and further identifies Jesus Christ as the incarnate Logos. Early translators of the Greek New Testament, such as Jerome (in the 4th century AD), were frustrated by the inadequacy of any single Latin word to convey the meaning of the word logos as used to describe Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John. The Vulgate Bible usage of in principio erat verbum was thus constrained to use the (perhaps inadequate) noun verbum for «word»; later Romance language translations had the advantage of nouns such as le Verbe in French. Reformation translators took another approach. Martin Luther rejected Zeitwort (verb) in favor of Wort (word), for instance, although later commentators repeatedly turned to a more dynamic use involving the living word as used by Jerome and Augustine.^[14] The term is also used in Sufism, and the analytical psychology of Carl Jung.

Despite the conventional translation as «word», logos is not used for a word in the grammatical sense—for that, the term lexis (λέξις, léxis) was used.^[15] However, both logos and lexis derive from the same verb légō (λέγω), meaning «(I) count, tell, say, speak».^[2][15][16]

Ancient Greek philosophy[edit]

Heraclitus[edit]

The writing of Heraclitus (c. 535 – c. 475 BC) was the first place where the word logos was given special attention in ancient Greek philosophy,^[17] although Heraclitus seems to use the word with a meaning not significantly different from the way in which it was used in ordinary Greek of his time.^[18] For Heraclitus, logos provided the link between rational discourse and the world’s rational structure.^[19]

This logos holds always but humans always prove unable to ever understand it, both before hearing it and when they have first heard it. For though all things come to be in accordance with this logos, humans are like the inexperienced when they experience such words and deeds as I set out, distinguishing each in accordance with its nature and saying how it is. But other people fail to notice what they do when awake, just as they forget what they do while asleep.

For this reason it is necessary to follow what is common. But although the logos is common, most people live as if they had their own private understanding.

— Diels–Kranz, 22B2

Listening not to me but to the logos it is wise to agree that all things are one.

— Diels–Kranz, 22B50^[20]

What logos means here is not certain; it may mean «reason» or «explanation» in the sense of an objective cosmic law, or it may signify nothing more than «saying» or «wisdom».^[21] Yet, an independent existence of a universal logos was clearly suggested by Heraclitus.^[22]

Aristotle’s rhetorical logos[edit]

Following one of the other meanings of the word, Aristotle gave logos a different technical definition in the Rhetoric, using it as meaning argument from reason, one of the three modes of persuasion. The other two modes are pathos (πᾰ́θος, páthos), which refers to persuasion by means of emotional appeal, «putting the hearer into a certain frame of mind»;^[23] and ethos (ἦθος, êthos), persuasion through convincing listeners of one’s «moral character».^[23] According to Aristotle, logos relates to «the speech itself, in so far as it proves or seems to prove».^[23][24] In the words of Paul Rahe:

For Aristotle, logos is something more refined than the capacity to make private feelings public: it enables the human being to perform as no other animal can; it makes it possible for him to perceive and make clear to others through reasoned discourse the difference between what is advantageous and what is harmful, between what is just and what is unjust, and between what is good and what is evil.^[8]

Logos, pathos, and ethos can all be appropriate at different times.^[25] Arguments from reason (logical arguments) have some advantages, namely that data are (ostensibly) difficult to manipulate, so it is harder to argue against such an argument; and such arguments make the speaker look prepared and knowledgeable to the audience, enhancing ethos.^{[citation needed]} On the other hand, trust in the speaker—built through ethos—enhances the appeal of arguments from reason.^[26]

Robert Wardy suggests that what Aristotle rejects in supporting the use of logos «is not emotional appeal per se, but rather emotional appeals that have no ‘bearing on the issue’, in that the pathē [πᾰ́θη, páthē] they stimulate lack, or at any rate are not shown to possess, any intrinsic connection with the point at issue—as if an advocate were to try to whip an antisemitic audience into a fury because the accused is Jewish; or as if another in drumming up support for a politician were to exploit his listeners’s reverential feelings for the politician’s ancestors».^[27]

Aristotle comments on the three modes by stating:

Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds.
The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker;
the second on putting the audience into a certain frame of mind;
the third on the proof, or apparent proof, provided by the words of the speech itself.

Stoics[edit]

Stoic philosophy began with Zeno of Citium c. 300 BC, in which the logos was the active reason pervading and animating the Universe. It was conceived as material and is usually identified with God or Nature. The Stoics also referred to the seminal logos («logos spermatikos«), or the law of generation in the Universe, which was the principle of the active reason working in inanimate matter. Humans, too, each possess a portion of the divine logos.^[29]

The Stoics took all activity to imply a logos or spiritual principle. As the operative principle of the world, the logos was anima mundi to them, a concept which later influenced Philo of Alexandria, although he derived the contents of the term from Plato.^[30] In his Introduction to the 1964 edition of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, the Anglican priest Maxwell Staniforth wrote that «Logos … had long been one of the leading terms of Stoicism, chosen originally for the purpose of explaining how deity came into relation with the universe».^[31]

Isocrates’ logos[edit]

Public discourse on ancient Greek rhetoric has historically emphasized Aristotle’s appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos, while less attention has been directed to Isocrates’ teachings about philosophy and logos,^[32] and their partnership in generating an ethical, mindful polis. Isocrates does not provide a single definition of logos in his work, but Isocratean logos characteristically focuses on speech, reason, and civic discourse.^[32] He was concerned with establishing the «common good» of Athenian citizens, which he believed could be achieved through the pursuit of philosophy and the application of logos.^[32]

In Hellenistic Judaism[edit]

Philo of Alexandria[edit]

Philo (c. 20 BC – c. 50 AD), a Hellenized Jew, used the term logos to mean an intermediary divine being or demiurge.^[11] Philo followed the Platonic distinction between imperfect matter and perfect Form, and therefore intermediary beings were necessary to bridge the enormous gap between God and the material world.^[33] The logos was the highest of these intermediary beings, and was called by Philo «the first-born of God».^[33]
Philo also wrote that «the Logos of the living God is the bond of everything, holding all things together and binding all the parts, and prevents them from being dissolved and separated».^[34]

Plato’s Theory of Forms was located within the logos, but the logos also acted on behalf of God in the physical world.^[33] In particular, the Angel of the Lord in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) was identified with the logos by Philo, who also said that the logos was God’s instrument in the creation of the Universe.^[33]

Targums[edit]

The concept of logos also appears in the Targums (Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible dating to the first centuries AD), where the term memra (Aramaic for «word») is often used instead of ‘the Lord’, especially when referring to a manifestation of God that could be construed as anthropomorphic.^[35]

Christianity[edit]

In Christology, the Logos (Koinē Greek: Λόγος, lit. ‘word, discourse, or reason’)^[3] is a name or title of Jesus Christ, seen as the pre-existent second person of the Trinity. The concept derives from John 1:1, which in the Douay–Rheims, King James, New International, and other versions of the Bible, reads:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.^[36][37][38]

Gnosticism[edit]

According to the Gnostic scriptures recorded in the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, the Logos is an emanation of the great spirit that is merged with the spiritual Adam called Adamas.^{[39][better source needed]}

Neoplatonism[edit]

Neoplatonist philosophers such as Plotinus (c. 204/5 – 270 AD) used logos in ways that drew on Plato and the Stoics,^[40] but the term logos was interpreted in different ways throughout Neoplatonism, and similarities to Philo’s concept of logos appear to be accidental.^[41] The logos was a key element in the meditations of Plotinus^[42] regarded as the first neoplatonist. Plotinus referred back to Heraclitus and as far back as Thales^[43] in interpreting logos as the principle of meditation, existing as the interrelationship between the hypostases—the soul, the intellect (nous), and the One.^[44]

Plotinus used a trinity concept that consisted of «The One», the «Spirit», and «Soul». The comparison with the Christian Trinity is inescapable, but for Plotinus these were not equal and «The One» was at the highest level, with the «Soul» at the lowest.^[45] For Plotinus, the relationship between the three elements of his trinity is conducted by the outpouring of logos from the higher principle, and eros (loving) upward from the lower principle.^[46] Plotinus relied heavily on the concept of logos, but no explicit references to Christian thought can be found in his works, although there are significant traces of them in his doctrine.^{[citation needed]} Plotinus specifically avoided using the term logos to refer to the second person of his trinity.^[47] However, Plotinus influenced Gaius Marius Victorinus, who then influenced Augustine of Hippo.^[48] Centuries later, Carl Jung acknowledged the influence of Plotinus in his writings.^[49]

Victorinus differentiated between the logos interior to God and the logos related to the world by creation and salvation.^[50]

Augustine of Hippo, often seen as the father of medieval philosophy, was also greatly influenced by Plato and is famous for his re-interpretation of Aristotle and Plato in the light of early Christian thought.^[51] A young Augustine experimented with, but failed to achieve ecstasy using the meditations of Plotinus.^[52] In his Confessions, Augustine described logos as the Divine Eternal Word,^[53] by which he, in part, was able to motivate the early Christian thought throughout the Hellenized world (of which the Latin speaking West was a part)^[54] Augustine’s logos had taken body in Christ, the man in whom the logos (i.e. veritas or sapientia) was present as in no other man.^[55]

Islam[edit]

The concept of the logos also exists in Islam, where it was definitively articulated primarily in the writings of the classical Sunni mystics and Islamic philosophers, as well as by certain Shi’a thinkers, during the Islamic Golden Age.^[56][57] In Sunni Islam, the concept of the logos has been given many different names by the denomination’s metaphysicians, mystics, and philosophers, including ʿaql («Intellect»), al-insān al-kāmil («Universal Man»), kalimat Allāh («Word of God»), haqīqa muḥammadiyya («The Muhammadan Reality»), and nūr muḥammadī («The Muhammadan Light»).

ʿAql[edit]

One of the names given to a concept very much like the Christian Logos by the classical Muslim metaphysicians is ʿaql, which is the «Arabic equivalent to the Greek νοῦς (intellect).»^[57] In the writings of the Islamic neoplatonist philosophers, such as al-Farabi (c. 872 – c. 950 AD) and Avicenna (d. 1037),^[57] the idea of the ʿaql was presented in a manner that both resembled «the late Greek doctrine» and, likewise, «corresponded in many respects to the Logos Christology.»^[57]

The concept of logos in Sufism is used to relate the «Uncreated» (God) to the «Created» (humanity). In Sufism, for the Deist, no contact between man and God can be possible without the logos. The logos is everywhere and always the same, but its personification is «unique» within each region. Jesus and Muhammad are seen as the personifications of the logos, and this is what enables them to speak in such absolute terms.^[58][59]

One of the boldest and most radical attempts to reformulate the neoplatonic concepts into Sufism arose with the philosopher Ibn Arabi, who traveled widely in Spain and North Africa. His concepts were expressed in two major works The Ringstones of Wisdom (Fusus al-Hikam) and The Meccan Illuminations (Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya). To Ibn Arabi, every prophet corresponds to a reality which he called a logos (Kalimah), as an aspect of the unique divine being. In his view the divine being would have for ever remained hidden, had it not been for the prophets, with logos providing the link between man and divinity.^[60]

Ibn Arabi seems to have adopted his version of the logos concept from neoplatonic and Christian sources,^[61] although (writing in Arabic rather than Greek) he used more than twenty different terms when discussing it.^[62] For Ibn Arabi, the logos or «Universal Man» was a mediating link between individual human beings and the divine essence.^[63]

Other Sufi writers also show the influence of the neoplatonic logos.^[64] In the 15th century Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī introduced the Doctrine of Logos and the Perfect Man. For al-Jīlī, the «perfect man» (associated with the logos or the Prophet) has the power to assume different forms at different times and to appear in different guises.^[65]

In Ottoman Sufism, Şeyh Gâlib (d. 1799) articulates Sühan (logos—Kalima) in his Hüsn ü Aşk (Beauty and Love) in parallel to Ibn Arabi’s Kalima. In the romance, Sühan appears as an embodiment of Kalima as a reference to the Word of God, the Perfect Man, and the Reality of Muhammad.^{[66][relevant?]}

Jung’s analytical psychology[edit]

Carl Jung contrasted the critical and rational faculties of logos with the emotional, non-reason oriented and mythical elements of eros.^[67] In Jung’s approach, logos vs eros can be represented as «science vs mysticism», or «reason vs imagination» or «conscious activity vs the unconscious».^[68]

For Jung, logos represented the masculine principle of rationality, in contrast to its feminine counterpart, eros:

Woman’s psychology is founded on the principle of Eros, the great binder and loosener, whereas from ancient times the ruling principle ascribed to man is Logos. The concept of Eros could be expressed in modern terms as psychic relatedness, and that of Logos as objective interest.^[69]

Jung attempted to equate logos and eros, his intuitive conceptions of masculine and feminine consciousness, with the alchemical Sol and Luna. Jung commented that in a man the lunar anima and in a woman the solar animus has the greatest influence on consciousness.^[70] Jung often proceeded to analyze situations in terms of «paired opposites», e.g. by using the analogy with the eastern yin and yang^[71] and was also influenced by the neoplatonists.^[72]

In his book Mysterium Coniunctionis Jung made some important final remarks about anima and animus:

In so far as the spirit is also a kind of «window on eternity»… it conveys to the soul a certain influx divinus… and the knowledge of a higher system of the world, wherein consists precisely its supposed animation of the soul.

And in this book Jung again emphasized that the animus compensates eros, while the anima compensates logos.^[73]

Rhetoric[edit]

Author and professor Jeanne Fahnestock describes logos as a «premise». She states that, to find the reason behind a rhetor’s backing of a certain position or stance, one must acknowledge the different «premises» that the rhetor applies via his or her chosen diction.^[74] The rhetor’s success, she argues, will come down to «certain objects of agreement…between arguer and audience». «Logos is logical appeal, and the term logic is derived from it. It is normally used to describe facts and figures that support the speaker’s topic.»^[75] Furthermore, logos is credited with appealing to the audience’s sense of logic, with the definition of «logic» being concerned with the thing as it is known.^[75]

Furthermore, one can appeal to this sense of logic in two ways. The first is through inductive reasoning, providing the audience with relevant examples and using them to point back to the overall statement.^[76] The second is through deductive enthymeme, providing the audience with general scenarios and then indicating commonalities among them.^[76]

Rhema[edit]

The word logos has been used in different senses along with rhema. Both Plato and Aristotle used the term logos along with rhema to refer to sentences and propositions.^[77][78]

The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek uses the terms rhema and logos as equivalents and uses both for the Hebrew word dabar, as the Word of God.^[79][80][81]

Some modern usage in Christian theology distinguishes rhema from logos (which here refers to the written scriptures) while rhema refers to the revelation received by the reader from the Holy Spirit when the Word (logos) is read,^{[82][83][84][85]} although this distinction has been criticized.^[86][87]

See also[edit]

• -logy
• Dabar
• Dharma
• Epeolatry
• Imiaslavie
• Logic
• Logocracy
• Logos (Christianity)
• Logotherapy
• Nous
• Om
• Parmenides
• Ṛta
• Shabda
• Sophia (wisdom)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The Apologist’s Bible Commentary Archived 2015-09-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Logos definition and example Archived 2016-06-25 at the Wayback Machine
• «Logos» . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 919–921.

English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos, “speech, oration, discourse, quote, story, study, ratio, word, calculation, reason”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɒɡɒs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈloʊɡoʊs/, /ˈloʊɡɑs/

Noun[edit]

logos (plural logoi)

1. (rhetoric) A form of rhetoric in which the writer or speaker uses logic as the main argument.
2. Alternative letter-case form of Logos

Coordinate terms[edit]

• (form of rhetoric): ethos, pathos

Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

logos

1. plural of logo

Anagrams[edit]

• slogo

Cornish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Brythonic *llugod, plural of *llug, from Proto-Celtic *lukūts.

Noun[edit]

logos f (singulative logosen or logojen)

1. mice

Derived terms[edit]

• (Revived Late Cornish) logos broas

Czech[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Derived from Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [ˈloɡos]

Noun[edit]

logos m

1. Logos

[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• logos in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• logos in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Esperanto[edit]

Verb[edit]

logos

1. future of logi

French[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

logos m

1. plural of logo

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

logos m (invariable)

1. logos

Anagrams[edit]

• sgolo, sgolò, slogo, slogò, solgo

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈlo.ɡos/, [ˈɫ̪ɔɡɔs̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈlo.ɡos/, [ˈlɔːɡos]

Noun[edit]

logos m (genitive logī); second declension

1. a word
2. (in the plural) idle talk, empty chatter
3. a witticism, bon mot
4. reason

   Synonym: ratiō

Declension[edit]

Second-declension noun (Greek-type).

References[edit]

• “logos”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “logos”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• logos in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

Latvian[edit]

Noun[edit]

logos m

1. locative plural form of logs

Portuguese[edit]

Noun[edit]

logos

1. plural of logo

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos).

Noun[edit]

logos n (plural logosuri)

1. logos

Declension[edit]

Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /lôːɡos/
• Hyphenation: lo‧gos

Noun[edit]

lȏgos m (Cyrillic spelling ло̑гос)

1. (philosophy, religion) logos

Declension[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈloɡos/ [ˈlo.ɣ̞os]
• Rhymes: -oɡos
• Syllabification: lo‧gos

Noun[edit]

logos m pl

1. plural of logo

Swedish[edit]

Noun[edit]

logos

1. indefinite genitive singular of logo.

Anagrams[edit]

• slogo

West Makian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Said by Voorhoeve to be of Austronesian origin.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ˈl̪o.ɡos̪/

Noun[edit]

logos

1. coral (of a reef)

References[edit]

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[1], Pacific linguistics

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.

Sources:

1. Logos synonyms – 139 Words and Phrases for Logos | Power Thesaurus 
2. Logos | Britannica
3. Logos definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary  
4. Logos | Nice Translator 

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Well, logos is science or reason, something that helps us to function practically and effectively in the world, and it must therefore be closely in tune and reflect accurately the realities of the world around us.

Karen Armstrong

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LOGOS

From Greek: word, reason, discourse, from legein to speak.

PRONUNCIATION OF LOGOS

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LOGOS

Logos is a noun.

WHAT DOES LOGOS MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of logos in the English dictionary

The definition of logos in the dictionary is reason or the rational principle expressed in words and things, argument, or justification; esp personified as the source of order in the universe.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH LOGOS

SYNONYMS OF «LOGOS»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «logos» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF LOGOS

Find out the translation of logos to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «LOGOS»

The term «logos» is very widely used and occupies the 4.375 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of logos

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «LOGOS» OVER TIME

8 QUOTES WITH «LOGOS»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word logos.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LOGOS»

Discover the use of logos in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to logos and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LOGOS»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term logos is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Logos [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/logos>. Apr 2023 ».

Logos, or the appeal to logic, means to appeal to the audiences’ sense of reason or logic. To use logos, the author makes clear, logical connections between ideas, and includes the use of facts and statistics. Using historical and literal analogies to make a logical argument is another strategy.

What is the Greek meaning of logos?

Logos – Longer definition: The Greek word logos (traditionally meaning word, thought, principle, or speech) has been used among both philosophers and theologians. God’s logos, which the Christ represents, acts as a bridge between the human’s inner spiritual needs and the answer proclaimed by the Christian message.

What does Heraclitus mean by logos?

Heraclitus believed the world is in accordance with Logos (literally, “word”, “reason”, or “account”) and is ultimately made of fire. He also believed in a unity of opposites and harmony in the world.

What does the Latin word logos mean?

logos – the Word of God, or principle of divine reason and creative order, identified in the Gospel of John with the second person of the Trinity incarnate in Jesus Christ.

What does Techne and logos means?

Etymology. The word technology comes from two Greek words, transliterated techne and logos. Techne means art, skill, craft, or the way, manner, or means by which a thing is gained. Logos means word, the utterance by which inward thought is expressed, a saying, or an expression.

What was the meaning of the Greek word logos?

See Article History. Logos, (Greek: “word,” “reason,” or “plan”) plural logoi, in ancient Greek philosophy and early Christian theology, the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning. Although the concept is also found in Indian, Egyptian, and Persian philosophical and theological systems, it became

Where does the name logos come from in Christianity?

In Christology, the Logos ( Greek: Λόγος, lit. ”Word”, “Discourse”, or “Reason”) is a name or title of Jesus Christ, derived from the prologue to the Gospel of John ( c 100) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”, as well as in the Book of Revelation ( c 85),…

Which is the correct spelling of the word logos?

Strong’s Concordance logos: a word (as embodying an idea), a statement, a speech Original Word: λόγος, ου, ὁ Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: logos Phonetic Spelling: (log’-os) Definition: a word (as embodying an idea), a statement, a speech Usage: a word, speech, divine utterance, analogy. HELPS Word-studies

What was Gordon Clark’s definition of the word logos?

Gordon Clark (1902–1985), for instance, a Calvinist theologian and expert on pre-Socratic philosophy, famously translated Logos as “Logic”: “In the beginning was the Logic, and the Logic was with God and the Logic was God.”