μέρος

Forms

μέρος (méros) n (genitive μέρεος or μέρους); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a verbal noun from Ancient Greek μείρομαι (meíromai, “to receive as one's portion”),^[2][3][4] Proto-Hellenic *(h)méros,^[1] a neuter s-stem built on the root ⟨μερ-⟩ of the verb, from Proto-Indo-European *smer- (“to receive a share”).^[1][2][5] LIV sets up the noun as *(s)mér-os- (“part”), and holds that the verb is not a denominative of it.^[5] Latin mereō (“to earn”) and meritum (“reward, merit”) are probably related.^[1][6]

μέλος (mélos) “limb” is similar in sound and meaning but has a different origin.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, for a third part of the seasons (ὡρέων τρίτατον μέρος), and in Theognis and the Homeric Hymn to Hermes.^[4][7][6]

Semantic evolution

From “allotted share” the word moved to one's lot in life, one's turn and one's part in an action.^[8][4] Tragedy and prose used it in set phrases: τοὐμὸν μέρος, “my part”, meant simply “I” or “as far as I am concerned”, and ἐν μέρει and ἀνὰ μέρος meant “in turn”.^[8][4][9] As “part” opposed to the whole it served for the sides of a building, the divisions of an army, parties and classes, and for the parts of a whole.^[4][8]

In the New Testament it is the share of the property that falls to a son, and a part as against the whole.^[10] The medieval vernacular kept it, with a genitive in ⟨-ου⟩ beside the ancient one.^[11] Modern Greek μέρος (méros) continues it, partly as a learned word.^[12][6]

Timeline

• 6th century BC – The Homeric Hymn to Demeter uses it for a part of the year, and Theognis has it too.^[4][7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar uses it for a share or portion.^[4][8][13]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of one's turn and of a share.^[4][8][13]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles and Euripides use τοὐμὸν μέρος “for my part”.^[8][13]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses ἀνὰ μέρος “in turn”.^[4][8][13]
• 1st century AD – In Luke (15:12) it is the share of the property that falls to a son.^[10]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek μέρος (méros) continues the ancient word.^[12][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A share, portion, allotment.^[4][8]
2. One's lot or destiny.^[4][8]
3. One's turn; with prepositions: ἐν μέρει, ἀνὰ μέρος “in turn, by turns”, κατὰ μέρος “one after another, in detail”.^[4][8]
4. The part one takes in something, one's role or interest;^[8] τοὐμὸν μέρος “my part”, that is “I”, or “as far as I am concerned”.^[4][8][9]
5. A part as opposed to the whole;^[4] μέρος τι “in part”.^[4][8][10]
6. A side or region (of a building, a mountain, a country).^[8][9]
7. A division (of an army), a party, a class or rank.^[8][2][9]

Word family

• διαμερίζω (diamerízō)
• μερίζω (merízō)
• μερίς (merís)
• μερισμός (merismós)
• μεριστής (meristḗs)
• μέρεια (méreia)
• μερίδιον (merídion)
• μερικός (merikós)
• μέρισμα (merísma)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. ^ 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 g h i j k l m n o Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
6. ^ a b c d Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c d Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
13. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge