γλεῦκος

Forms

γλεῦκος (gleûkos) n (genitive γλεύκους or γλεύκεος); third declension^[1] Cretan genitive γλεύκιος (gleúkios), with an early Cretan spelling κλεῦκ-, and Mycenaean Greek de-re-u-ko.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a neuter s-stem from Ancient Greek γλυκύς (glukús, “sweet”), with the full grade ⟨ευ⟩ where the adjective has ⟨υ⟩.^[4][5][6] Frisk took this full grade for a late innovation on the model of the many neuter s-stems, and Beekes repeats the view, but notes that ἀγλευκής (agleukḗs, “not sweet”) in Epicharmus looks old.^[5][4] The form Mycenaean Greek de-re-u-ko shows that the noun already existed in Mycenaean times.^[2][6]

Its spelling with ⟨d-⟩ supports the reconstruction of the adjective with an initial ⟨δλ-⟩, which would connect it with Latin dulcis (“sweet”).^[4] Frisk and Chantraine point out that the change of ⟨δλ-⟩ to ⟨γλ-⟩ can be neither proved nor disproved, and the ⟨υ⟩ of the adjective is also unexpected.^[5][7][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is Mycenaean Greek de-re-u-ko on the Linear B tablets.^[2][6] In alphabetic Greek it appears in inscriptions from Gortyn in Crete and in the Hippocratic writings, for grape juice or must.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle uses it for sweet new wine and, in the Problems, for sweetness itself, Nicander describes wasps feeding on the juice of fallen grapes, and Dioscorides notes that must makes one less drunk than sweet wine.^[3][2] Papyri from the 3rd century BC on record it as a commodity, and Galen uses it for grape juice.^[2][3][9]

In the Acts of the Apostles it is used ironically, of people said to be “full of new wine”, and Gregory of Nyssa turned the phrase into an image of the Spirit's inspiration.^[9][2] Hesychius, Photius and the Atticist lexica define it as the juice that drips from the grapes before they are trodden.^[10][11][12] A scholiast on Nicander adds that it was commonly called μοῦστος (moûstos), the Latin word for must.^[9][13]

The word was borrowed into Coptic.^[14] Modern Greek Γλεύκος (glévkos) survives as a learned word for must.^[15][6] French glucose, coined in 1838 from the Greek word, gave English glucose.^[16]

Timeline

• Mycenaean period – The Linear B tablets record it as Mycenaean Greek de-re-u-ko.^[2][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Inscriptions from Gortyn in Crete use the Cretan form.^[2]
• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writings use it for must.^[2][8]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for sweet new wine and for sweetness.^[3][2]
• 3rd century BC – Papyri from Egypt record it as a commodity.^[2][9]
• About AD 500 – A Sahidic Coptic manuscript has the borrowed word.^[14]
• 1838 – French glucose is coined from it, and English has glucose from 1840.^[16]
• Modern Greek – The learned γλεύκος (glévkos) means must.^[15]

Meanings

Noun

1. Sweet new wine, must.^[3][17][2]
2. Grape juice.^[3][2]
3. Sweetness.^[3]

Word family

• γλεύκινος (gleúkinos)
• γλευκίτης (gleukítēs)

Related words

• γλυκύς (glukús)
• ἀγλευκής (agleukḗs)
• Latin dulcis
• English glucose

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
3. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
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. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ a b c d e Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c d 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
10. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
11. ^ Photius, Lexicon, ed. Christos Theodoridis, vol. 1 (Α–Δ) (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1982); ed. Richard Porson (Cambridge, 1822)
12. ^ Lexica Segueriana, in Immanuel Bekker, ed. (1814), Anecdota Graeca I, Berlin: Nauck
13. ^ Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
14. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
15. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
16. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
17. ^ Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press