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κέλαδος

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Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word κέλαδος

Confidence
Unknown
First attested
Homer, Iliad

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /ké.la.dos/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈce.la.ðos/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈce.la.ðos/[1]

Forms

κέλᾰδος (kélados) m (genitive κελᾰ́δου); second declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.[2] It is formed with the suffix -δος (-dos) of ὅμαδος (hómados, “din”), χρόμαδος (khrómados, “crash”) and ῥοῖβδος (rhoîbdos, “whirring noise”), on a root κελα- (kela-) of unclear origin.[2][1] Beekes rejects a link with καλέω (kaléō, “to call”), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁-, which would have given ⟨ελε⟩;[2] it has been compared with κελαρύζω (kelarúzō, “to murmur, of water”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on: in the Iliad the din of people quarrelling and the uproar of battle, and in the Odyssey the noise of quarrelling.[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

It remained a poetic word.[3] LSJ takes its first sense to be the noise of rushing water, and Hesiod and the epic poets use it for tumult in general.[3][4] In tragedy it is the clamour of shouting and wailing, the cry of Bacchus, and a shout or roar;[4][3][4][3] Pindar and Euripides use it for the resounding sound of a lyre, of song, or of an oracle's voice.[4][3]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses it for the din of people quarrelling.[3][5]
  • 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for the loud voice of an oracle, and Aeschylus for a shout of grief.[3][6]
  • 5th century BC – Euripides uses it for the music of the lyre and the cry of Bacchus.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A loud noise, as of rushing water; tumult, the uproar of battle.[3][4]
  2. Clamour of shouting, wailing or revelry; a shout, a roar.[4][3]
  3. A resounding musical sound, of a lyre or song; the loud voice of an oracle.[3][4]

Word family

  • κελαδεινός (keladeinós)
  • κελαδέω (keladéō)
  • κελάδημα (keládēma)
  • κελαρύζω (kelarúzō)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  5. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  6. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
Cite this entry

“Κέλαδος.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%CE%BA%CE%AD%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%B4%CE%BF%CF%82. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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