🔼The name Syntyche: Summary
- Meaning
- Collective (Mis-)Fortune, Total Happenstance, Completely By Chance
- Etymology
- From (1) the prefix συν (sun), with, and (2) the noun τυχη (tuche), fortune, chance.
🔼The name Syntyche in the Bible
Syntyche is a member of the church in Philippi, who apparently is stuck in a bit of a ruffle with a woman named Euodia. When Paul writes his letter to the Philippians, he devotes a line to the two and instructs them to live in harmony in the Lord (4:2), but he also asks the recipient of this letter to help these two women, "who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement."
🔼Etymology of the name Syntyche
The name Syntyche consists of two elements. The first part is the ubiquitous prepositional συν (sun), meaning together or with. In compositions this particle implies company or completeness of an action; altogether, totally. This particle survives in English as the prepositional syn (syndicate, synchronous, synthesis, etc.).
The second part of the name Syntyche is the noun τυχη (tuche), meaning fortune, chance (whether good or bad); a hap, accident; by chance:
τυγχανω
The verb τυγχανω (tugchano) means to happen or to chance, and relates to being lucky or fortunate. The derived noun τυχη (tuche) hence means luck or fortune. Adjective τυχικος (tuchikos) means fortuitous or casual.
🔼Syntyche meaning
These elements put together results in something like Great (Mis-)Fortune or Total Happenstance.
The closely related noun συντυχια (suntuchia) is used in the meaning of an occurrence, a hap, chance, incident, and would literally mean Completely By Chance.