Κύπρος

Forms

Κῠ́προς (Kúpros) f (genitive Κῠ́πρου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^[2][3] Frisk and Beekes call its likeness to Sumerian zabar (“copper”), a word that passed through Akkadian into Elamite, an accident.^[3][4] Neu proposed a Hurrian origin, from a root meaning “copper”, but Beekes notes that the Hurrian word has no /u/ and suggests that the name may come from a substrate language.^[4] The island was famous for its copper, and in the Bronze Age it, or part of it, was called Alašiya.^[4]

Latin named copper after the island, first aes Cyprium, then cuprum, the source of French cuivre, German Kupfer and the English word copper.^[4][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Iliad has only the adverb “to Cyprus”, while the Odyssey names the island several times: Menelaus visits it, Paphos there is a seat of Aphrodite, and Odysseus tells of its king Dmetor.^[6][7] Chantraine notes that O. Masson linked Mycenaean Greek ku-pi-ri-jo with the name.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the name came Κύπρις (Kúpris), a title of Aphrodite, born on Cyprus, also called Κυπρογενής, and the ethnic adjective Κύπριος (Kúprios) “Cypriot”.^[2][3] Because of the island's mines, Κύπριος means “of copper” in the magical papyri.^[2] The name is frequent in Greek personal names in Κυπρο- and -κυπρος.^[2]

In the New Testament the Acts of the Apostles mention the island several times.^[8][9] The island keeps its name in Modern Greek, Κύπρος (Kýpros).^[10][11]

Timeline

• Mycenaean period – The adjective Mycenaean Greek ku-pi-ri-jo may show the name.^[2]
• Homer – The Iliad has the adverb “to Cyprus” and the Odyssey names the island.^[6][7]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony uses the name.^[12][13]
• 1st century AD – The Acts of the Apostles name the island.^[8][9]
• 1st century AD – Pliny records the Latin word cuprum “copper”, named after the island.^[2][13]
• Modern Greek – The island is still called Κύπρος (Kýpros).^[10][11]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. Cyprus, the island in the eastern Mediterranean.^[6][14]

Word family

• Κύπριος (Kúprios)
• Κυπρογενής (Kuprogenḗs)

Related words

• Latin cuprum
• English copper
• English Cyprus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
3. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b Thayer, Joseph Henry (1889), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, New York: American Book Company
9. ^ a b United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
10. ^ a b Πολυλεξικό, in the encyclopedia Επιστήμη και Ζωή, Athens
11. ^ a b Τεγόπουλος, Γ.; Φυτράκης, Ε. (1997), Μείζον Ελληνικό Λεξικό, Athens: Αρμονία
12. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
13. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
14. ^ Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press