νίτρον

Forms

νῐ́τρον (nítron) n (genitive νῐ́τρου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is an Oriental loanword, ultimately borrowed from Egyptian nṯrj (“natron”).^[2][3][4] The same word is found in Biblical Hebrew נֶתֶר (néṯer, “washing soda”) and probably in Hittite nitri-.^[2][1][5] Rosół classes it among the Egyptian loanwords that may have reached Greek through Semitic.^[4] Chantraine calls it a travelling loanword.^[5]

The Attic and Herodotean form λίτρον (lítron) arose by dissimilation of ⟨ν⟩ before ⟨τ⟩ to ⟨λ⟩.^[5][3] The grammarian Phrynichus says that the form with ⟨ν⟩ is Aeolic, as in Sappho, and that the Athenians used the form with ⟨λ⟩.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Sappho, and then in the Hippocratic writings, for natron, native sodium carbonate.^[6][2][7]

Semantic evolution

The Hippocratic doctors used natron in remedies and distinguished a “red” kind, and Aristotle discusses the substance, and Herodotus and Plato write the Attic form λίτρον.^[6][7] It was also a washing agent: Alciphron and Libanius mention it mixed with oil as a soap, and in the Septuagint Jeremiah speaks of washing with it.^[6][8] Antiphanes names it as a seasoning.^[6] Natron was collected from brine and mined, in Egypt at Naucratis and Memphis.^[9]

It was borrowed as Latin nitrum and as Coptic ⲛⲓⲧⲣⲟⲛ (nitron), the latter first recorded about AD 800.^[9][10] Medieval Greek kept it.^[11] Modern Greek νίτρο (nítro) is now a learned word for nitrate minerals, a sense taken from French nitre, which goes back to Latin nitrum.^[12]

Timeline

• 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses the form with ⟨ν⟩.^[6][4][13]
• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writings use it in remedies, and Herodotus writes λίτρον.^[6][7][13]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle discusses natron.^[6][13]
• 3rd century BC – It appears in the Zenon papyri.^[6]
• Septuagint – Jeremiah uses it for a washing agent.^[8]
• 4th century AD – Alciphron mentions it mixed with oil as a soap.^[6][13]
• About AD 800 – The Coptic loanword is first recorded.^[10]
• Modern Greek – It names nitrate minerals.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. Natron, native sodium carbonate, used in medicine and for washing.^[6][14][2]

Word family

• νιτρώδης (nitrṓdēs)
• νιτρία (nitría)

Related words

• λίτρον (lítron)
• Latin nitrum
• English natron

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d Rosół, Rafał (2013), Frühe semitische Lehnwörter im Griechischen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
5. ^ a b c 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ a b Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
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
14. ^ Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press