ἄμβροτος

Forms

ᾰ̓́μβροτος (ámbrotos) m (feminine ᾰ̓μβρότη, neuter ᾰ̓́μβροτον); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *ámr̥tos,^[2] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *n̥mr̥tós (“immortal”), a compound of the negative prefix and the verbal adjective of the root “to die”.^[2][1][3] Greek analyses it as from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + βροτός (brotós, “mortal”).^[1][4] The β is a glide that grew between /m/ and /r/ once the syllabic /r̥/ had become /ro/: from earlier *ἄμροτος (*ámrotos) came ἄμβροτος (ámbrotos).^[1][2] Van Beek takes the unique Homeric phrase νὺξ ἀβρότη (nùx abrótē, “immortal night”), which keeps a scansion without the /m/, as an archaism from before that change.^[2][5]

It is the exact match of Sanskrit अमृत (amṛ́ta-) and Avestan 𐬀𐬨𐬆𐬱𐬀 (aməša-) “immortal”, and of Latin immortālis in meaning.^[5][3][2] The simple βροτός (brotós, “mortal”) corresponds to Sanskrit मृत (mṛtá-) “dead” and Old Armenian մարդ (mard) “man”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for the immortal gods themselves (“an immortal god”) and for what belongs to them: the blood that flows from the wounded Aphrodite, the horses of Achilles, the arms and clothes of the gods.^[4][6][7]

Semantic evolution

Already in Homer the word often means not “deathless” but “divine”, and many uses suggest a divine fragrance: the gods' robes, the oil with which the Graces anoint Aphrodite, the gifts that make a woman beautiful.^[4][7] Hesiod calls the voice of the Muses “immortal”, and the lyric and tragic poets (Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles) keep it for gods and divine things;^[7][8] Empedocles makes the neuter plural the immortal elements of nature.^[7][8]

It remained a word of poetry, most frequent in Homer and again in the learned epic of the 3rd century AD.^[9] Late Christian poets such as Synesius apply it to God and to Christ.^[7] The Pythagoreans used it as a name of the number five.^[6][7] In ordinary speech ἀθάνατος (athánatos) took its place.^[10]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for the gods and their blood, horses, arms and clothes.^[4][6]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod calls the voice of the Muses “immortal”.^[7]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar and Aeschylus use it of gods and goddesses.^[6][7]
• 5th century BC – Empedocles calls the elements “the immortal things”, and Sophocles addresses the voice of an oracle as “immortal Rumour”.^[7][6]
• 4th–5th century AD – Synesius applies it to Christ.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Immortal, of gods.^[6][8][4]
2. Divine, belonging to or befitting the gods: their blood, horses, arms, clothes; also of night and of the light of day.^[6][8][4]
3. Fragrant as ambrosia; conferring divine beauty.^[7][4]
4. (Pythagorean) The number five.^[6][7]

Word family

• ἀμβροσία (ambrosíā)
• ἀμβρόσιος (ambrósios)

Related words

• βροτός (brotós)
• ἄβροτος (ábrotos)
• ἀθάνατος (athánatos)
• English ambrosia

Usage notes

Homer also has a form without the β, ἀβρότη (abrótē), in “immortal night”, and the related ἄβροτος (ábrotos) in Aeschylus means “without men, deserted”.^[5][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f van Beek, Lucien (2022), The Reflexes of Syllabic Liquids in Ancient Greek: Linguistic Prehistory of the Greek Dialects and Homeric Kunstsprache, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d e f g Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
5. ^ 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
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
8. ^ a b c d Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος