ἀμαυρός

Forms

ᾰ̓μαυρός (amaurós) m (feminine ᾰ̓μαυρᾱ́, neuter ᾰ̓μαυρόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes thinks it is probably Pre-Greek, because it has no etymology and because the variation between it and the forms without an initial vowel, such as μαυρόω (mauróō), may be a substrate feature rather than a lost vowel.^[2] The DGE also suspects a non-Indo-European origin.^[3] Wiktionary reports a proposed Proto-Indo-European *h₂mr̥-wós, compared with Latin umbra (“shade”);^[1] Puhvel took it for a Scythian loan.^[2] Chantraine finds it unsurprising that such a vague, pejorative word lacks an etymology, and notes its likeness to ἀμυδρός (amudrós, “dim”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Odyssey, as the epithet of a phantom that is hard to make out.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Sappho used it of the dead.^[4][5] From “faint, hard to see” it came to mean weak or feeble, of persons and their strength, especially in tragedy;^[5] Sophocles called the blind Oedipus helpless with it.^[5][4] Hesiod, Aeschylus and Euripides used it of lowly or humbled persons and families, and Aeschylus of an obscure rumour.^[5] Xenophon applied it to a hare's dim sight and to a faint scent trail.^[5] Chantraine stresses that it expressed being faint or effaced rather than a colour.^[4]

The verb ἀμαυρόω (amauróō, “to darken, weaken”) lost its initial vowel in μαυρόω (mauróō), from which the rare μαῦρος (maûros) was formed;^[4][7] this gave Modern Greek μαύρος (mávros, “black”).^[7][4] There is also αμαυρός (amavrós, “dim, dull”), a rare learned word.^[7] Hippocrates used the derivative ἀμαύρωσις (amaúrōsis) for the dimming of the sight.^[4]

Timeline

• Homer – The Odyssey uses it of a phantom that is hard to see.^[4][5]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it of a humbled family.^[5][6]
• 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses it of the dead.^[4][5]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it of the blind and helpless Oedipus.^[4][5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses it of a hare's dim sight and a faint scent.^[5][3]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek μαύρος (mávros) “black” continues a form without the initial vowel, and Modern Greek αμαυρός (amavrós) is a learned word.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Hard to see, faint, indistinct, as a phantom or the dead.^[8][5]
2. Dim, dark, murky.^[5][4]
3. Weak, feeble, helpless.^[5]
4. Faint, as a scent trail; vague, obscure, as a rumour.^[5]
5. Lowly, brought low.^[5]

Word family

• ἀμαυρόω (amauróō)
• ἀμαύρωσις (amaúrōsis)
• ἀμαυρία (amauríā)
• ἀμαυρότης (amaurótēs)
• μαυρόω (mauróō)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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 Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press