γαμβρός

Forms

γαμβρός (gambrós) m (genitive γαμβροῦ); second declension^[1] Aeolic γάμβρος.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵm̥-ró-, a derivative of the root *ǵemH- (“to marry”).^[3][4] The ⟨β⟩ is a glide that arose between ⟨μ⟩ and ⟨ρ⟩.^[5] The Greek word belongs with the Indo-Iranian names of the son-in-law, Sanskrit जामातृ (jā́mātṛ) and Avestan zāmātar, whose ending was added later after the other kinship terms, and with Sanskrit जामि (jāmí) “related”.^[3][6][1] The verb γαμέω (gaméō, “to marry”) may have been formed secondarily, or its likeness may be due to the influence of that verb on γαμβρός.^[3] The DGE and Babiniotis take it as formed from the stem of that verb and of γάμος (gámos, “marriage”).^[7][5]

Other languages have similar words: Latin gener, Albanian dhëndër, Lithuanian žéntas and Old Church Slavonic зѧть (zętĭ).^[3][7] Beekes thinks that these must have been influenced by Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget”), the root of γίγνομαι (gígnomai).^[3] Chantraine notes that the names of the son-in-law vary a great deal between the Indo-European languages and were often reshaped by popular etymology, so that the original form is hard to recover.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it is mostly a son-in-law, but in two passages of the Iliad a brother-in-law, a sister's husband.^[6][8]

Semantic evolution

Ionic and Attic show the same range: Herodotus uses it both for a son-in-law and for a sister's husband, Sophocles for a wife's brother.^[6][8] Euripides once uses it for a father-in-law, and in the plural it can mean all one's relations by marriage.^[6][2] In Aeolic and Doric poetry it is the bridegroom or suitor.^[8][2]

It survives in medieval Greek and in Modern Greek γαμπρός (gambrós), spelled after its pronunciation with [mb].^[9][10][5] In Modern Greek it is above all the bridegroom.^[9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for a son-in-law and for a sister's husband.^[8][6]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony uses it.^[11]
• 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses it for a bridegroom.^[8][2]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for a son-in-law and a brother-in-law, and Euripides once for a father-in-law.^[8][6]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it for a wife's brother.^[8][6]
• Middle Ages – The form γαμπρός (gambrós) appears.^[10][9]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek γαμπρός (gambrós) is the bridegroom.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Any man related by marriage; in the plural, in-laws.^[8][2]
2. A son-in-law.^[8][2]
3. A brother-in-law: a sister's husband, or a wife's brother.^[8][6]
4. A father-in-law.^[8][6]
5. (Aeolic, Doric) A bridegroom or suitor.^[8][2]

Word family

• γαμβρεύω (gambreúō)

Related words

• γαμέω (gaméō)
• γάμος (gámos)
• Latin gener

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b c d e 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
4. ^ Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
7. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
11. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux