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ἔμπειρος

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Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word ἔμπειρος

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
500–400 BC Pindar, Aeschylus
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek πεῖρα
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek πεῖρα
Ancient Greek ἔμπειρος

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /ém.peː.ros/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈem.pi.ros/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈem.pi.ros/[1]

Forms

ἔμπειρος (émpeiros) m or f (neuter ἔμπειρον); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἐν- (en-) + πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, experience”) + -ος (-os), “in experience”.[1][2][3] Its opposite is ἄπειρος (ápeiros, “inexperienced”), formed from the same noun.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Pindar and Aeschylus, in the 6th–5th century BC.[4][3] Pindar says that war is sweet to the inexperienced but that one who has known it dreads its approach.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

In Herodotus, the tragedians and Thucydides the adjective means “experienced” or “acquainted with” something, usually with the genitive: with a country, with the sea, with a rite, with someone's intentions.[2][4] It is used above all of skill in war and seafaring, and then of every art and profession, from poetry and medicine to geometry and music.[4] In tragedy it can also mean one who has been through troubles, and Hesychius glosses it as “patient, enduring”.[4]

Its derivatives ἐμπειρία (empeiría) “experience” and ἐμπειρικός (empeirikós) “experienced” are old, and in the Hellenistic period ἐμπειρικός came to mean a physician who relies only on practice.[3] Medieval Greek kept the adjective, and Modern Greek uses έμπειρος (émbiros) as a learned word, “experienced”, of a person in his work.[5][6]

Timeline

  • 6th–5th century BC – Pindar and Aeschylus use it of those who have experienced war or troubles.[4][2][3]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of knowing a country, a rite or someone's mind, and Thucydides of skill at sea and in war.[2][4]
  • 4th century BC – Plato uses it of skill in geometry and other arts.[4]
  • 4th century BC – Aristotle uses the derivative ἐμπειρικός.[3]
  • Modern Greek – έμπειρος (émpeiros) survives as a learned word for “experienced”.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Experienced, practised, especially in war or at sea.[2][7][4]
  2. Having been through something, having experience of it; without a complement, one who has known hardship.[4]
  3. Acquainted with, knowing about something, such as a place, a rite or a person's mind.[2][4]
  4. Skilled or expert in an art or profession.[4]

Word family

  • ἐμπειρία (empeiría)
  • ἐμπειρικός (empeirikós)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
  5. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  6. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
  7. ^ Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Cite this entry

“Ἔμπειρος.” Etymologically, 30 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%E1%BC%94%CE%BC%CF%80%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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