Etymologically
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βαρύς

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Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /ba.rýs/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /βaˈrys/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /vaˈrys/[1]

Forms

βᾰρῠ́ς (barús) m (feminine βᾰρεῖᾰ, neuter βᾰρῠ́); first/third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *gʷarus, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us (“heavy”).[1] Beekes reconstructs the zero grade Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥h₂-u-, the same formation as Sanskrit गुरु (gurú, “heavy”) and the Gothic word for “heavy”, while Latin gravis goes back to the full grade.[2] brūtus (“heavy, dull”), from an extended Proto-Indo-European *gʷrH-u-to-, was originally an Oscan word.[2] Within Greek, βάρος (báros, “weight”), βριαρός (briarós, “strong”) and βρίθω (bríthō, “to be heavy”) belong to the same family.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is first used of the heavy, powerful hands of a warrior: Achilles promises Calchas that no one will lay heavy hands on him.[3][4] Homer also uses it of grievous ruin and grim fate, and of the deep voice of the Cyclops.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Heavy in weight, the word was soon used of anything that weighs on a person: harsh enemies and gods, bitter grief, oppressive rule, and, more weakly, troublesome people and serious charges.[5] Of the senses it means overpowering: a foul smell in Herodotus, strong wine and venom, heavy sleep.[5] In music and phonetics it means deep, low, opposed to ὀξύς (oxús, “high, sharp”).[5] Plato applies it to syllables with the grave accent, the βαρεῖα.[5][1] Plato and Polybius use it of heavy-armed troops, and Herodotus of unwieldy ships.[5]

In the New Testament it is used of heavy burdens laid on people and, figuratively, of weighty letters and fierce wolves.[6]

Medieval vernacular Greek used it for heavy, slow, strong, oppressive and hard to digest.[7] It survives as Modern Greek βαρύς (varís) (feminine βαριά), with a learned feminine βαρεία.[8] Modern Greek has added such senses as “sad” (a heavy heart) and “deep” (of sleep).[8][9]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses it of heavy, powerful hands, and of grievous ruin.[3][4]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of a foul smell.[5][10]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of deep sounds and of syllables with the grave accent.[5][10]
  • 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it of heavy-armed troops.[5][10]
  • 1st century AD – The New Testament speaks of “heavy burdens”.[6]
  • Middle Ages – The vernacular uses it for heavy, slow and oppressive.[7]
  • Modern Greek – Modern Greek βαρύς (varís) continues the ancient word.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Heavy, of great weight.[5][11]
  2. Of men and their hands: heavily built, powerful.[5][3]
  3. Weighed down, laden; of troops, heavy-armed; of ships, unwieldy.[5]
  4. Heavy to bear, burdensome; harsh, oppressive, grievous.[5][3][6]
  5. Troublesome, difficult; of things said, serious.[5]
  6. Overpowering to the senses: of a smell, foul; of sleep, heavy; of wine, strong.[5]
  7. Of sound: deep, low; of a voice, booming.[5][3]
  8. (grammar) Of a syllable: bearing the grave accent.[5]

Word family

  • βαρύτης (barútēs)
  • βαρύτονος (barútonos)
  • χαλκοβαρής (khalkobarḗs)
  • βαρεῖα (bareîa)
  • βάρημα (bárēma)
  • βαρύνω (barúnō)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  4. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  6. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
  7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  8. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  9. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
  10. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
  11. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press