μυρίκη

Forms

μυρίκη (muríkē) f (genitive μυρίκης); first declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes considers it a loanword of unclear origin, probably Pre-Greek, because of its ending, as in ἑλίκη (helíkē) and ἀδίκη (adíkē).^[2][3] Its ι was originally short, and the long ι in some Homeric lines is a metrical lengthening.^[2][3]

Lewy derived it from Semitic, comparing Biblical Hebrew מרר (mārar, “to be bitter”) because of the tree's bitter bark, but Rosół and Chantraine reject this.^[2][4][3] Chantraine also rejects a link with μύρτος (múrtos) and μυρσίνη (mursínē), and suggests that its original form may be related to the model of Latin tamarix (“tamarisk”).^[3][5] myrīca is borrowed from Greek.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is the tamarisk, growing on a river bank among elms and willows.^[6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

In Greece the name refers to Tamarix tetrandra, in Egypt to Tamarix articulata.^[6] Alcaeus mentions a branch of tamarisk, and Herodotus a door made of tamarisk wood in Egypt.^[6] Theophrastus has the adjective μυρικώδης “like a tamarisk”, and Homer μυρίκινος “of tamarisk”.^[2][3] On Lesbos Apollo was called Μυρικαῖος.^[2][3]

Medieval Greek kept the word, and the modern name is Modern Greek αρμυρίκι (armyríki), perhaps the ancient word reshaped after αρμυρός (armyrós, “salty”).^[9][10][3]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad names tamarisks beside elms and willows.^[6][7]
• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus mentions a tamarisk branch.^[6][11]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus describes a door made of tamarisk in Egypt.^[6][8][11]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus uses the adjective μυρικώδης (murikṓdēs).^[2][11]
• 3rd century BC – A papyrus from Zenon's archive records tamarisks.^[6]
• Modern Greek – The tree is called αρμυρίκι (armyríki).^[10][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The tamarisk (Tamarix tetrandra in Greece, Tamarix articulata in Egypt).^[6][8][2]

Word family

• μυρίκινος (muríkinos)

Related words

• Latin myrīca

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 e f g h 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. ^ Rosół, Rafał (2013), Frühe semitische Lehnwörter im Griechischen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
5. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge