μέριμνα

Forms

μέριμνᾰ (mérimna) f (genitive μερίμνης); first declension^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2] Wiktionary takes it as inherited from Proto-Hellenic *mérimnā, probably from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer- (“to remember”), comparing Latin memor (“mindful”) and Old English ġemimor (“mindful”).^[1] Beekes and Chantraine connect it with the verb seen in Sanskrit and Avestan maraiti (“remembers”).^[2][3] The formation is unclear: a stem in -μων (-mōn) or -μα (-ma) with a support vowel ι, as in μέδιμνος (médimnos), seems to be the base; the common view that the noun was made from μεριμνάω (merimnáō) is not supported by the dates of the words.^[2][3] μέρμερος (mérmeros) and μερμηρίζω (mermērízō) may belong to the same root.^[2][1]

Furnée took it as Pre-Greek because of its suffix, an alternative Beekes reports.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Hesiod's Works and Days speaks of the cares (plural) of the men of the iron age; the Homeric Hymn to Hermes has thick-coming cares that haunt a man.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

It was mainly a poetic word: Hesiod, Sappho, Empedocles, Pindar, tragedy and comedy use it for care, anxiety and anxious thought, and it is rare in prose before late Greek.^[2][3][4] Its senses run from worry about someone to thought in general, an idea (Empedocles), and an aim or ambition (Pindar, Bacchylides).^[7] Chantraine notes that it was used disparagingly of philosophical speculation: Aristophanes' Clouds calls Socrates' pupils “ponder-thinkers”, μεριμνοφροντιστής (merimnophrontistḗs).^[3]

In the New Testament it means worry about the things of life: “cast all your anxiety on him” (1 Peter), and anxiety about all the churches.^[8] The learned word Modern Greek μέριμνα (mérimna) means care for someone or something, as in κοινωνική μέριμνα, social welfare.^[9]

Timeline

• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Works and Days uses the plural for cares.^[5][6][10]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for aims and ambitions,^[7] and Aeschylus for care for someone.^[7][5][10]
• 5th century BC – Empedocles uses it for a thought or idea.^[7][10]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes coins μεριμνοφροντισταί for Socrates' pupils.^[3][10]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it for worry and anxious care.^[8]
• Modern Greek – Learned Modern Greek μέριμνα (mérimna) means care, provision.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Care, concern, anxiety; anxious thought (often plural).^[5][7]
2. Care for someone or something.^[5][7]
3. Thought in general; an idea.^[7]
4. An object of concern; a trouble.^[7]
5. An aim, design, ambition.^[7]
6. (New Testament) Worry, anxiety about the things of life.^[8][11]

Word family

• ἀμέριμνος (amérimnos)
• μεριμνάω (merimnáō)
• μεριμνήματα (merimnḗmata)
• μεριμνητής (merimnētḗs)
• μεριμνοφροντιστής (merimnophrontistḗs)

Related words

• μέρμερος (mérmeros)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 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 Scarborough, Matthew (2025), PHILOGLOSSA: database of Pre-Greek and other non-Indo-European words in Ancient Greek, version 1.0
5. ^ a b c d e Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b c 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
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
11. ^ United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.