From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordEndeēs means in need of; deficient in; lacking.
- In LysisThe neuter τὸ ἐνδεές means what is deficient, or the thing that lacks.
- Reading contextThe noun ἔνδεια is not substituted here for the adjective actually printed.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “that of which it is deficient.”
- English renderings
- In need of; deficient in; lacking
Meaning
In need of; deficient in; lacking.
Grammatical category: adjective.
Use in the book
The neuter τὸ ἐνδεές means what is deficient, or the thing that lacks. At 221d–e it supplies the bridge from desire to affinity: what desires desires what it lacks; what lacks is attached to that of which it is deficient; it becomes deficient in what is taken away.
The first step establishes a relation between desirer and desired object. The next step introduces deprivation and leads to οἰκεῖον. This is an argumentative transition needing scrutiny, not a definition that makes every ordinary lack the loss of something once possessed. The dialogue does not separately demonstrate that all desire is restoration. The noun ἔνδεια is not substituted here for the adjective actually printed.
Places to read
- 221d–eοὗ ἂν ἐνδεὲς ᾖ — that of which it is deficient.