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I think from looking up `ありき` that it means "based on", but it's usage is
unclear to me.

I've come across it in these two examples:

> まずは結論{けつろん}ありき

Which I think means "the conclusion is based on the premise." Or, in other
words, that [the question is
begged](http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/begging-the-question.html).

> 初{はじ}めに言葉{ことば}ありき

"In the beginning, there was the word." I believe that's a more or less
standard translation of the phrase from the Bible. But it doesn't say "based
on," so would it be accurate to say a more literal translation is "the
beginning is based on the word"?

Assuming I'm right about the meaning, then are the phrases above complete
sentences? Does `ありき` acts in the same way `です` or `だ` does? It's not a verb,
so what is it?

_Note that my goal is not so much to classify it and give it a name, as it is
to understand how to use it so I can make my own sentences with it. So an
answer that gets marked as correct would contain instructions for usage._

Here's my attempt to create a sentence using ありき:

> 合格{ごうかく}は動力{どうりょく}ありき。

Does that mean "success is based on effort," like I think it should? Is it a
complete sentence?
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question
grammar word-choice definitions
What exactly is ありき?
ari-ki is the verb ar- "be, are" plus the recollectional past suffix -ki. The
recollectional sense is all but lost and is essentially just a past tense now.
-ki is not used much in modern Japanese except for fossilized patterns such as
ariki and omoiki ya. ariki means that something was there; essentially atta.

Your examples:

  * mazu wa keturon ariki: This means that there was a conclusion from the beginning. This could be ironic since usually a conclusion is reached upon analysis and debate.
  * hazime ni kotoba ariki: This is a quotation from the bible. In the beginning, there was word. (Modern Japanese: hazime ni kotoba atta)
  * gōkaku wa douryoku ariki: Success is due to effort. The effort was done in the past and lead to the success.

Another example: There is place that I pass everyday in Shibuya that says
"恋文横丁此処にありき": Here was Koibumi street. I do not know the historical
significance, but this koibumi yokochō could be "Lovers' Lane".
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answer