From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordTropos means way; manner; in the plural, ways or habits of character.
- In LysisThe noun often introduces the manner in which something happens: Socrates does not know how one person becomes a friend of another, and the colour example distinguishes ways in which a quality can be present.
- Reading contextThe same English rendering need not fit every occurrence.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “or in ways or in figure.”
- English renderings
- Way; manner; in the plural, ways or habits of character
Meaning
Way; manner; in the plural, ways or habits of character.
Grammatical category: masculine noun.
Use in the book
The noun often introduces the manner in which something happens: Socrates does not know how one person becomes a friend of another, and the colour example distinguishes ways in which a quality can be present.
At 222a τρόπους appears among the possible respects of affinity to a beloved and means ways or characteristic manners. Context determines whether “way” means an explanatory manner or a person’s habits. The same English rendering need not fit every occurrence.