δεῦρο

Forms

δεῦρο (deûro) ^[1] Plural δεῦτε (deûte) (from Homer), made after imperatives; rare singular δεῦρε (deûre) (Attic inscriptions); δευρί (deurí) with deictic -ῑ (Aristophanes, Andocides); Aeolic δεῦρυ (deûru) and δεύρω (deúrō), given by Herodian.^[2][3] Mycenaean Greek de-we-ro-a3-ko-ra-i-ja, the name of a part of the kingdom of Pylos, may contain it.^[2][4]

Etymology

In Beekes's view it is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *de-u-ro (“(to) here”), though he marks the reconstruction with a question.^[2] The first part is the demonstrative adverb also found in the postposition -δε (-de), meaning motion towards.^[2][3][1] The ending recalls words of the same meaning, Lithuanian aurè and Avestan auuarə, and also Old Armenian ուր (ur, “where”) and Umbrian uru (“there”).^[2][3][5] Chantraine and Frisk ask whether the starting point was *δε-υρο (*de-uro) or *δε-αυρο (*de-auro), and compare Laconian πέδευρα (pédeura, “later”) in Hesychius.^[3][5] The DGE also compares Hittite duwan (“hither”).^[4]

Wiktionary notes that the expected word for “to here”, ἐνθάδε (entháde), came to mean “here”, which left δεῦρο as the word for motion to this place.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for “hither, here”, often with an imperative, as in “come here” or “come, let us …”.^[6][7][8] Chantraine notes that it was first used of motion, and that the use as an interjection meaning “come here” grew from that.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Tragedy and Plato added a logical and temporal use: “up to this point” in an argument, and “until now”.^[3][7] Aristotle uses τὰ δεῦρο for the things of this world, as opposed to the abstract Forms.^[7][1] The New Testament uses it with imperatives, as when Jesus calls Lazarus to come out of the tomb in John 11:43.^[9][10]

The plural δεῦτε (deûte) survives in Modern Greek, and Babiniotis treats Modern Greek δεύρο (dévro) as the ancient word.^[3][10]

Timeline

• Mycenaean period – A Pylos place name, Mycenaean Greek de-we-ro-a3-ko-ra-i-ja, may contain the word.^[2][4]
• Homer – The Iliad uses it for “hither” and with imperatives.^[6][8]
• 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses it as a call, “come here”.^[7][4]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it of time, “up to now”.^[7][4]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses τὰ δεῦρο of the things of this world.^[7][4]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of John has Jesus call Lazarus out with it.^[9][10]

Meanings

Adverb

1. To this place, hither, here.^[7][11]
2. At this place, here; τὰ δεῦρο, things here, and in Aristotle the things of this world.^[7]
3. Up to this point (in an argument); up to this time, until now.^[7]

Interjection

1. Come here!^[7][1]
2. With an imperative or a subjunctive: come, come on, come let us …^[7][1]

Related words

• δεῦτε (deûte)
• -δε (-de)
• ἐνθάδε (entháde)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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
4. ^ a b c d e f Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
11. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press