From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordGignomai means become; come to be; turn out in a certain condition.
- In LysisThe question at 212a–b asks how one person becomes a friend of another.
- Reading contextTranslate according to the actual construction: “become” often matters here, although some conversational uses are naturally rendered “turn out.”
- A place to readThe Greek example means “But sometimes it has already become such.”
- English renderings
- Become; come to be; turn out in a certain condition
Meaning
Become; come to be; turn out in a certain condition.
Grammatical category: verb.
Use in the book
The question at 212a–b asks how one person becomes a friend of another. The verb also carries the change central to the colour and moral analogy: having something present does not always mean having become that kind of thing.
At 217e the distinction between not yet being bad and already having become bad concerns the bearer’s condition, not merely the presence of an external influence. Translate according to the actual construction: “become” often matters here, although some conversational uses are naturally rendered “turn out.”