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ἔραμαι

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Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word ἔραμαι

Confidence
Unknown
First attested
Homer, Iliad

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /é.ra.mai̯/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /ˈe.ra.mɛ/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /ˈe.ra.me/[1]

Forms

ἔρᾰμαι (éramai) [1] Imperfect ἠράμην, aorist ἠρασάμην (epic ἠράσσατο) and passive ἠράσθην, future ἐρασθήσομαι; ἐράω (eráō) supplies the present in prose.[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.[4][5][6] Beekes finds no etymology and therefore suggests that it may be Pre-Greek.[4] Uhlenbeck and others compared it with Sanskrit रमते (rámate, “to calm down; to enjoy”), Lithuanian rimti (“to calm down”) and Gothic 𐍂𐌹𐌼𐌹𐍃 (rimis, “tranquillity”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rem-, with the Greek from a different extension, *h₁er-h₂-.[1] LIV lists a doubtful root *h₁erh₂- (“to love”).[7] Frisk calls the proposals unsatisfactory.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it always means sexual love, usually of a man for a woman, as when Paris tells Helen how he desires her (Iliad 3.446); it is also used of things, as of the man who longs for civil war.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In lyric and later poetry it means to be in love with someone, and the aorist means to fall in love.[3][2] With things it means to long for or lust after, as tyranny in Herodotus; with an infinitive, to long to do something.[2][3] In prose the present and imperfect are supplied by ἐράω (eráō).[2]

Its family includes ἔρως (érōs) “love”, ἐρατός (eratós) “lovely” with the Muse Ἐρατώ (Eratṓ), and ἐραστής (erastḗs) “lover”.[4]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad uses it of sexual love and of longing for war.[2][3]
  • 7th century BC – Archilochus uses the aorist of falling in love.[3][2][8]
  • 7th–6th century BC – Sappho uses it of being in love.[3][2][8]
  • 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of a passion for tyranny.[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To love, be in love with someone (with the genitive), properly of sexual passion.[2][3]
  2. In the aorist, to fall in love.[3][2]
  3. To desire passionately, long for something; with an infinitive, to long to do something.[2][3]

Word family

  • ἀνέραμαι (anéramai)
  • ἀντέραμαι (antéramai)
  • διέραμαι (diéramai)
  • ὑπερέραμαι (huperéramai)
  • ἔρασις (érasis)
  • ἐράσμιος (erásmios)
  • ἐραστεύω (erasteúō)
  • ἐραστής (erastḗs)
  • ἐραστός (erastós)
  • ἐρατός (eratós)
  • Ἐρατώ (Eratṓ)
  • ἐράω (eráō)
  • ἔρως (érōs)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  4. ^ a b c 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
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  7. ^ Rix, Helmut, et al. (2001), Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Reichert
  8. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
Cite this entry

“Ἔραμαι.” Etymologically, 25 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%E1%BC%94%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%B1%CE%B9. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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