θερμός

Forms

θερμός (thermós) m (feminine θερμή, neuter θερμόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kʷʰermós,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰermós (“warm”), an adjective formed with the suffix *-mos from the root Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰer- (“to be warm”).^[2][1][3] Beekes calls it an inherited adjective identical with Old Armenian ջերմ (ǰerm, “warm”).^[2] A form with the vowel o, *gʷʰormós, originally a noun, gives Sanskrit घर्म (gharmá, “heat”) and Old Prussian gorme (“heat”); it later became an adjective too, in Avestan garəma- (“warm”), Latin formus (“warm”) and Old English wearm, the source of the English word warm.^[2][1] Albanian zjarr (“fire”) also belongs here.^[2][1] The initial /tʰ/ is the regular Greek outcome of the labiovelar /gʷʰ/ before /e/.^[1]

Within Greek it goes with θέρομαι (théromai, “to become warm”) and θέρος (théros, “summer”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, meaning hot or warm: in the Iliad the Trojans shed hot tears over their dead, and the word is used of baths and of blood.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Greek it was used of things hot by nature, such as the sun, fire, winds and springs, and of things made hot, such as water and food; the neuter served as a noun for “heat”, and the neuter plural for hot regions or hot springs.^[6][5] From the body it passed to temperament: Aeschylus and Aristophanes call hasty, hot-headed people θερμός, and the orator Antiphon pairs it with “brave”.^[5][6] It could also mean “fresh, still warm”, as of a recent footprint or a recent misfortune.^[5][6] In the Septuagint the neuter once means “grace, favour”.^[5]

The word lived on unchanged in medieval vernacular Greek.^[7] It survives as Modern Greek θερμός (thermós) “warm, hot”, partly through learned use; the neuter noun θερμός “vacuum flask” was taken from French and English thermos, a trade name made from the Greek adjective.^[8][9] It is the first element of many compounds, such as the place name Θερμοπύλαι (Thermopúlai).^[2]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of tears, baths and water.^[4][5][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus applies it to hot-headed persons.^[5][6]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses the neuter for “heat” and the neuter plural for hot regions.^[6][5][10]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes uses the neuter for hot water to bathe in.^[5][10]
• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses the neuter plural for hot springs at a particular place.^[6][5]
• Modern Greek – θερμός (thermós) means “warm”, and the neuter noun names a vacuum flask.^[8][9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Hot by nature: of the sun, fire, smoke, winds, springs, and of places exposed to heat.^[6][5]
2. Made hot, warm: of water, food and drink, and of things burnt or melted.^[6][5]
3. Of the body: warm, hot; of blood, tears, sweat and breath.^[6][5]
4. Hot with fever, exertion or fear.^[6]
5. (figurative) Of persons and actions: hot-headed, rash, eager.^[6][5]
6. Fresh, still warm: of a recent footprint, of a recent misfortune.^[5][6]
7. (neuter as noun) heat; hot water; in the plural, hot regions or hot springs.^[5][6]
8. (neuter as noun, Septuagint) Grace, favour.^[5]

Word family

• θερμάζω (thermázō)
• θερμάστιον (thermástion)
• θερμαστρίς (thermastrís)
• θερμοφύλαξ (thermophúlax)
• ὀλιγόθερμος (oligóthermos)

Related words

• θέρμη (thérmē)
• θέρομαι (théromai)
• θέρος (théros)
• Latin formus
• English warm

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