γῆρυς

Forms

γῆρῠς (gêrus) f (genitive γήρυος); third declension^[1] Doric γᾶρυς.^[2][3] A Mycenaean form ka-ru-we has been doubtfully connected.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *geh₂r- (“voice, sound”).^[5][1] Comparable words are found in Celtic, Old Irish gáir (“cry”) and Welsh gawr (“crying, battle”), and in Germanic, Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌰 (kara, “care”), Old English cearu and Old High German chara (“lament”).^[5][2][4] The LIV reconstructs a root Proto-Indo-European *ǵar- (“to sound, call”) with a short vowel alternating with a long one, but Beekes rejects this as impossible for Indo-European and reconstructs the root given above, whose zero grade *gh₂r- explains the Celtic forms with -a-.^[5] The Germanic words may be better kept apart because of their meaning.^[5]

Forms with a double ⟨ρρ⟩ such as Latin garriō (“to chatter”) and γαρριώμεθα (garriṓmetha) are probably not related.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is the voice or speech: the Trojans and their allies have no single language.^[2][4][6]

Semantic evolution

It remained mainly a poetic word for the voice of men, gods, birds and animals.^[3][4] Sophocles speaks of a mournful cry, and Euripides calls Orpheus “the Orphic voice”.^[2] Bacchylides and Sophocles use it for the sound of a musical instrument.^[3] In later prose it is found in Plutarch, and Philo uses it of the voice of passion.^[2]

From it come the verb γηρύω (gērúō), to sing or speak, and γήρυμα (gḗruma).^[5]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for the speech of the Trojans' allies.^[2][4]
• 6th century BC – Theognis uses it.^[6][4]
• 5th century BC – Bacchylides uses the Doric form γᾶρυς.^[2][4]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles speaks of a mournful cry, and Euripides calls Orpheus “the Orphic voice”.^[2]
• 3rd century BC – Apollonius of Rhodes uses it for speaking the Colchian language.^[2][4]
• 1st century BC – 1st century AD – Philo uses it for the voice of passion.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The voice; speech, language.^[2][3][4]
2. A cry or sound of birds and animals.^[3]
3. The sound of a musical instrument.^[3]

Word family

• γηρύω (gērúō)
• γήρυμα (gḗruma)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b c d e f 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
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux