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ἡδύς

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Etymology and origin of the Ancient Greek word ἡδύς

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
Homer, Iliad
Inherited from
Proto-Hellenic *hwādús
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus

Pronunciation

  • 5th-century BC Attic: /hɛː.dýs/[1]
  • 4th-century AD Koine: /iˈðys/[1]
  • 10th-century Byzantine: /iˈðys/[1]

Forms

ἡδῠ́ς (hēdús) m (feminine ἡδεῖᾰ, neuter ἡδῠ́); first/third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *hwādús,[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”), the old Indo-European word for “sweet”, from the root *sweh₂d- (“to be sweet”).[1][2] The feminine ἡδεῖα (hēdeîa) continues *hwādéyya.[1] Doric ἁδύς (hādús) and Elean ϝαδύς (wadús) keep the original long /aː/ and, in Elean, the initial /w/.[2][1]

It matches Sanskrit स्वादु (svādú) exactly, and Gaulish names in ⟨Suadu-⟩; Latin suāvis (“sweet”), Old High German suozi and Old English swēte are reshaped forms of the same word.[2] The zero grade is found in Lithuanian sū́dyti (“to spice, salt”).[2] Within Greek it belongs with ἥδομαι (hḗdomai) and ἁνδάνω (handánō) “to please”.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Homer it is used of what pleases the senses: wine, a meal, a smell, a song, and “sweet” sleep; the neuter ἡδύ is an adverb, as when the Achaeans laughed “merrily” in the Iliad.[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

After Homer it is used of welcome persons, and Sophocles uses the superlative ironically.[4] Like εὐήθης (euḗthēs), it could mean “simple, naive”: in Plato's Gorgias Callicles calls Socrates “simple”, and ὦ ἥδιστε is an ironic “my good friend”; the Etymologicum Magnum notes this Platonic use.[4][6] It also came to mean “pleased, glad”, as in Demosthenes.[4] The neuter plural τὰ ἡδέα was “pleasures” in Thucydides and Plato.[4]

The Septuagint has it for pleasant things and for being glad.[7] In Koine it was used of wine and of an offering acceptable to God, and the adverb ἡδέως (hēdéōs) meant “gladly”.[8][9]

Timeline

  • Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of wine, food, scent, song and sleep.[3][4]
  • Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it of the Muses' voice.[4][10]
  • 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it of welcome persons and of a pleasant report.[4][10]
  • 5th century BC – Thucydides uses the neuter plural for pleasures.[4][10]
  • 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of a naive person and ironically in address.[4][10]
  • 4th century BC – Demosthenes uses it for being glad.[4][10]
  • Septuagint – The Song of Songs and Proverbs use it for pleasant and well pleased.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Sweet or pleasant to the taste or smell: of wine, food, scent.[4][3]
  2. Pleasant to the ear or mind: of a song, a voice, sleep, news; τὰ ἡδέα, pleasures.[4][3]
  3. (of persons) welcome, dear; ironically in the superlative.[4][3]
  4. Naive, simple, like εὐήθης (euḗthēs); ὦ ἥδιστε, “my good friend”, ironically.[4][6]
  5. Well pleased, glad.[4][7]

Word family

  • ἀηδής (aēdḗs)
  • ἡδέως (hēdéōs)
  • ἥδιστος (hḗdistos)
  • ἦδος (êdos)
  • ἡδυεπής (hēduepḗs)
  • ἥδυμος (hḗdumos)
  • ἡδύπνοος (hēdúpnoos)
  • ἥδυσμα (hḗdusma)
  • ἡδύλος (hēdúlos)
  • ἡδύνω (hēdúnō)
  • ἡδυσμός (hēdusmós)
  • ἥδομαι (hḗdomai)
  • ἡδονή (hēdonḗ)
  • ἁνδάνω (handánō)
  • Latin suāvis
  • English sweet

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 f Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
  6. ^ a b Gaisford, Thomas, ed. (1848), Etymologicum Magnum, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
  8. ^ Spicq, Ceslas (1994), Theological Lexicon of the New Testament, tr. James D. Ernest, 3 vols, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Ἡδύς.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/grc/%E1%BC%A1%CE%B4%CF%8D%CF%82. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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