ergatos

Ergatos is the transliteration of the Greek noun εργάτης, meaning “worker” or “laborer.” In both classical and modern Greek, it refers to a person who performs work, and in historical discussion it can denote a laborer or working-class figure. In modern usage, εργάτης remains the ordinary Greek word for “worker.”

Form and variants: The classical form is typically given as ergatēs in scholarly transliteration. The Latinized or diacritic-free form ergatos appears in some English-language texts. In Greek, the plural is εργάτες (ergátes). English-language treatment often uses the root erg- in related terms rather than adopting ergatos as a productive standalone term.

Derived terms and usage: The root erg- (from Greek ergon, “work”) gives rise to many words, including ergonomic, ergonomics, and ergometer. A political linguistic lineage leads to ergatocracy, a term describing governance by workers, formed from ergat- (worker) and -cracy (rule). While ergatos itself is not a common English word, it serves as an etymological source for vocabulary relating to labor and work.

See also: Greek nouns for occupations; ergatocracy; ergon; ergonomics; ergometer.

Note: Ergatos is primarily of linguistic and etymological interest rather than a frequently used standalone term in English. In contemporary Greek, the everyday word for “worker” is εργάτης (ergátis), with the plural εργάτες (ergátes).

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