Ἄραψ

Forms

Ἄρᾰψ (Áraps) m or f (genitive Ἄρᾰβος); third declension^[1] Epic dative plural Ἀράβεσσι in Nonnus.^[2][3] Other ethnic names: Ἀράβιος (Herodotus), Ἄραβος (Aeschylus), feminine Ἀράβισσα (Tzetzes).^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic عَرَب (ʕarab).^[1][5] The Greek Wiktionary traces the Arabic word to the root ع ر ب (ʕ-r-b).^[5] Strong's dictionary and Louw–Nida treat the Greek word as a derivative of Ἀραβία (Arabía, “Arabia”), which Wiktionary lists instead as formed from it.^[6][7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DGE's earliest example is in the Periplus of Scylax, where it names a native of Arabia.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Polybius, Strabo and Josephus use it for the Arabs, and the Acts of the Apostles uses it once, of an Arab.^[8][2][9] It was also an adjective: a Delphic paean calls incense “Arab vapour”, and Nonnus speaks of an Arab cuirass.^[10][2]

It was borrowed as Latin Arabs and Coptic ⲁⲣⲁⲃⲟⲥ (arabos), the Coptic form first recorded in a manuscript of AD 364.^[1][11] It was also a personal name in Asia Minor.^[12] Medieval vernacular Greek used it for the inhabitants of Arabia.^[13] It survives as Modern Greek Άραβας (Áravas).^[1][5]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Scylax uses it of a native of Arabia.^[2]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses it for the Arabs.^[8][2]
• 2nd century BC – A Delphic paean uses it as an adjective of incense.^[10][2]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Strabo uses it for the Arabs.^[10][2]
• 1st century AD – Josephus uses it for the Arabs.^[10][2]
• 4th century AD – Coptic ⲁⲣⲁⲃⲟⲥ (arabos) is first recorded, in a manuscript of AD 364.^[11]
• 4th–5th century AD – Nonnus uses the epic dative plural Ἀράβεσσι and calls a cuirass Arab.^[2][10]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular texts use it for the inhabitants of Arabia.^[13]
• Modern Greek – The word is Άραβας (Áravas).^[1][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. An Arab, a native of Arabia.^{[10][8][2][9][14]}

Adjective

1. Arabian.^[10][2]

Word family

• Ἀραβία (Arabía)
• Ἀραβικός (Arabikós)

Related words

• Ἀράβιος (Arábios)
• Latin Arabs
• Modern Greek Άραβας (Áravas)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
4. ^ Smith, William, ed. (1854), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, London: Walton and Maberly
5. ^ a b c d Βικιλεξικό, the Greek Wiktionary, https://el.wiktionary.org
6. ^ Strong, James (1890), A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament, in The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, New York: Hunt & Eaton
7. ^ United Bible Societies (2023), UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (revised Louw–Nida semantic domains), open-licence ed.
8. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b Abbott-Smith, G. (1922), A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark
10. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
12. ^ LGPN-Ling: Etymology and Semantics of Ancient Greek Personal Names, ANHIMA/EPHE and Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, Oxford, https://lgpn-ling.huma-num.fr
13. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
14. ^ Thayer, Joseph Henry (1889), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, New York: American Book Company