ἄμπελος

Forms

ᾰ̓́μπελος (ámpelos) f (genitive ᾰ̓μπέλου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It cannot be explained as an Indo-European word and is generally taken to come from Pre-Greek, although, as Beekes notes, there are no further formal signs of this.^[2][1][3] Chantraine calls it a typical term of the Mediterranean substrate because of its meaning, and Frisk a Mediterranean culture word; both mention Hubschmid's comparison with a reconstructed pre-Roman word.^[4][5] Attempts to explain it from Indo-European or Semitic have failed.^[5][6] A comparison with Akkadian inbu (“fruit”) and the Hebrew word for a grape is listed by Rosół among the rejected Semitic etymologies.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Odyssey first uses it for the grapevine, naming vines together with wheat and barley; the Iliad has only the adjective ἀμπελόεις (ampelóeis, “rich in vines”).^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

In Alcaeus and Herodotus it is the grapevine, and Thucydides uses the singular as a collective for the vines round a sanctuary.^[8][10] Poets made it a figure for wine: Pindar speaks of the “dew of the vine”.^[8] The botanists named other climbing plants after it, such as the wild vine and the white and black bryony in Theophrastus and Dioscorides.^[8]

In the Septuagint and the New Testament the Gospels speak of “the fruit of the vine”, the Letter of James asks whether a vine can bear figs, and in John's Gospel Christ is the vine and his disciples the branches.^[6] Medieval Greek used it for a vineyard or a landed estate.^[11] Modern Greek άμπελος (ámbelos) is a learned word for the vine; the everyday word for a vineyard, Modern Greek αμπέλι (ambéli), continues the diminutive ἀμπέλιον (ampélion).^[12]

Timeline

• Homer – The Odyssey uses it for the grapevine.^[8][9]
• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus mentions vines.^[8][3]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar calls wine the dew of the vine.^[8][3]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it collectively for the vines round a temple.^[8][3]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus names the wild vine and other climbing plants after it.^[8][3]
• 1st century AD – The Gospels use it for the vine.^[6]
• Modern Greek – άμπελος is a learned word for the vine, beside αμπέλι “vineyard”.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The grapevine, Vitis vinifera; collectively, vines.^[8][10]
2. Any climbing plant with tendrils: the wild vine, and with an adjective the white or black bryony.^[8]
3. (poetic) The vine as the source of wine.^[8]
4. (Byzantine) A vineyard; an estate.^[11]

Word family

• ἀμπέλινος (ampélinos)
• ἀμπέλιον (ampélion)
• ἀμπελών (ampelṓn)
• ἀμπελόδεσμος (ampelódesmos)
• ἀμπελόκαρπον (ampelókarpon)
• ἀμπελόπρασον (ampelóprason)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
4. ^ 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
7. ^ Rosół, Rafał (2013), Frühe semitische Lehnwörter im Griechischen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
11. ^ a b 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