Etymologically
Log in

κύριος

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 20:25. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /ky̌ː.ri.os/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈcy.ri.os/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈcy.ri.os/[1]

Forms

κῡ́ρῐος (kū́rios) m (feminine κῡρῐ́ᾱ, neuter κῡ́ρῐον); first/second declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kúrios,[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- (“to swell, be strong”).[2][1] It is formed on an r-stem, which is also presupposed by ἄκυρος (ákuros, “without authority”); beside it there may have been a simple *κῦρος (kûros), corresponding to the Sanskrit and Avestan word for a hero, from which κυρόω (kuróō, “to confirm”) would come.[2] By surface analysis it is κῦρος (kûros, “supremacy”) with the adjective suffix -ιος (-ios).[1] Babiniotis also derives it from such a noun, from which the later neuter noun of the same form comes.[3]

It is related to κύω (kúō, “to be pregnant”), and Wiktionary and Babiniotis compare Welsh cawr (“giant”).[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Pindar and Aeschylus, as an adjective: in Pindar Zeus is lord of all things, κύριος of everything.[3][4] Spicq gives its first meaning as “having power”.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the classical language the adjective means having power or authority over someone or something, and of things authoritative and decisive: a valid law or contract, the appointed day, the legitimate holder of power.[4][5] The grammarians called the ordinary, literal word for a thing the κύριον ὄνομα.[4] Spicq dates the noun ὁ κύριος, “master, legal guardian”, to the 4th century BC, when it grew out of the substantivized adjective; in the papyri the formula “let it be valid” closes contracts, wills and receipts.[5]

In the Septuagint κύριος renders the name of God more than eight thousand times, and also means master and owner, a husband, or “sir” in address; from there it became the Christian title of God and of Christ in the New Testament.[6][5][7] Medieval Greek kept the word,[8] and Modern Greek κύριος (kýrios) is a learned word: as the polite title “Mr” it continues Hellenistic κύριε and follows French monsieur and Italian signore, and the adjective κύριος is also a learned revival.[9]

Timeline

  • 6th–5th century BC – Pindar calls Zeus κύριος of all things.[4][3]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of the appointed day.[4][10]
  • 4th century BC – The noun ὁ κύριος, “master, guardian”, appears.[5]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – The Septuagint uses it for the name of God.[6]
  • 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it of God and of Christ.[7]
  • Modern Greek – κύριος means “Mr” and, as an adjective, “main”.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having power or authority over someone or something; entitled to do something.[4][5]
  2. Of things, authoritative, decisive; valid, of laws and contracts.[4][5]
  3. Of times, appointed, fixed.[4]
  4. Legitimate, lawful.[4]
  5. Real, proper;[4] (grammar) of a word, ordinary, literal.[4]
  6. Principal, most important.[7][6]

Noun

  1. A lord, master; the owner of a slave or property; a legal representative or guardian.[5][6]
  2. In address, sir.[6][7]
  3. (Septuagint, New Testament) The Lord, God; in the New Testament also Christ.[6][7]

Word family

  • κῦρος (kûros)
  • συγκυρία (sunkuría)
  • κατακυριεύω (katakurieúō)
  • κυρία (kūríā)
  • κυριακόν (kūriakón)
  • κυριακός (kūriakós)
  • κυρίως (kuríōs)
  • κυρόω (kūróō)
  • κύω (kúō)
  • English kyrie

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b 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 Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c d e f Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
  7. ^ a b c d e 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
  8. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  10. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge