Etymologically
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φώρ

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Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /pʰɔ̌ːr/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈɸor/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈfor/[1]

Forms

φώρ (phṓr) m (genitive φωρός); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *pʰṓr,[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *bʰṓr,[1][2] an old agent noun with lengthened grade, literally “bearer”, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry”), the root of φέρω (phérō).[3][2] It is identical with Latin fūr (“thief”).[3][2][1] The thief was originally the one who carries off the stolen goods.[4] The inherited word was pushed back by the newer κλώψ (klṓps) and κλέπτης (kléptēs), the latter found already in Homer, and only its derivative φωράω (phōráō) stayed in common use.[3]

An ancient etymologicum also derived it from the verb “to carry”, with a lengthened vowel.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Hipponax is the first to use it, for a thief.[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Herodotus, Plato and Demosthenes use it for a thief, and Sophron has a superlative “most thievish”.[8][6] Aristotle quotes the proverb “thief knows thief and wolf knows wolf” and uses the word for a kind of bee, probably a robber bee.[8] The “Thieves' Harbour” near the Piraeus, mentioned by Demosthenes and Strabo, was used by smugglers.[8]

Hellenistic poets such as Callimachus and Apollonius of Rhodes kept the old word.[6]

Timeline

  • 6th century BC – Hipponax uses it for a thief.[6][7]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it, and Sophron has the superlative φώρτατος.[8][7]
  • 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for a kind of bee, and Demosthenes mentions the Thieves' Harbour.[8][7]
  • 3rd century BC – Apollonius of Rhodes uses it in epic.[6][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A thief.[8][6]
  2. A kind of bee, probably a robber bee.[8]

Usage notes

Proverbs: “thief knows thief and wolf knows wolf”, quoted by Aristotle, and “the thieves' lot is better”, quoted from Hyperides.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
  5. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
  6. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press