μείων

Forms

μείων (meíōn) m or f (neuter μεῖον); third declension^[1] Neuter μεῖον (meîon); later μειότερος (meióteros) (Apollonius of Rhodes, Aratus); a superlative μεῖστος (meîstos) least in Locrian and in Hesychius.^[2][3] Mycenaean Greek me-u-jo, me-wi-jo, plural me-u-jo-e, me-wi-jo-e, on the Knossos tablets.^[2][4]

Etymology

It is a primary comparative from Proto-Indo-European *meyH- (“to lessen”), a verbal root also continued in Sanskrit.^[2][5] The -u- in the Mycenaean forms Mycenaean Greek me-u-jo and me-wi-jo is unexpected in a comparative, which in Indo-European would not have it;^[2] Beekes compares Tocharian B maiwe (“small, young”), from Proto-Indo-European *moHi-uo-.^[2] Its opposite is πλείων (pleíōn, “more”); see also μινύθω (minúthō, “to lessen”).^[2]

It serves as the comparative of μικρός (mīkrós, “small”).^[4][6][7] The Homeric Epimerismi derived it from μέρος (méros, “part”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Knossos tablets have me-u-jo and me-wi-jo.^[4][3] In the Iliad it is used of a man smaller in stature.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

It is mostly an epic and poetic word, found from the Iliad on, and also in the Hippocratic writers, Xenophon, the Law Code of Gortyn and other Doric and Arcadian texts.^[3] It means lesser in status or wealth, in power or importance, and with the dative lesser in age, younger; in the plural it is fewer.^[9] Xenophon has the phrase μεῖον ἔχειν, to come off worse, and the compound μειονεκτέω (meionektéō) to be at a disadvantage.^[9][3] The neuter survives as the learned Modern Greek μείον (meíon), less, which took the sense minus from English.^[7]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – me-u-jo, me-wi-jo on the Knossos tablets.^[2][4]
• Homer – smaller in stature.^[9]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses the plural for fewer.^[9][10][11]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it with the dative for younger.^[9][11]
• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses μεῖον ἔχειν, to come off worse.^[9][11]
• Modern Greek – μείον minus, a learned word.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Smaller, less in size or stature.^[9][12]
2. Lesser in status or wealth, humbler; with the dative, lesser in age, younger.^[9]
3. Less great in power or reputation.^[9]
4. Of things, less in amount, extent, degree or value; neuter, a lesser amount.^[9]
5. In the phrase μεῖον ἔχειν, to be at a disadvantage, come off worse.^[9]
6. Plural, fewer.^[9]

Word family

• μειόω (meióō)

Related words

• μικρός (mīkrós)
• μινύθω (minúthō)
• πλείων (pleíōn)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 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 Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
5. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
6. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
7. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
10. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
12. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press