ὑπέρ

Forms

ῠ̔πέρ (hupér) (governs the genitive, dative, and accusative)^[1] Epic also ὑπείρ, a metrical lengthening, and Arcadian ὁπέρ, Boeotian οὑπέρ, Pamphylian ὑπαρ and, according to the grammarians, Lesbian ἴπερ.^[2][3][4] In Aeolic poetry περί (perí) takes its place.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *hupér,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over, above”).^[1][2] Beekes and Frisk reconstruct the adverb with and without a final vowel, *uper(i), and Frisk compares the same alternation in περί (perí) beside πέρ (pér).^[2][6] Wiktionary explains its genitive as continuing the Indo-European ablative of separation or cause, and its accusative as an old case of direction.^[1]

Cognate with Sanskrit उपरि (upári), Avestan upairi and Old Persian upariy, all meaning “over, above”, with Old High German ubir and Old English ofer (“over”), and with Latin super, which has an added initial ⟨s⟩.^[2][3][6][4] The comparative ὑπέρτερος (hupérteros) and the superlative ὑπέρτατος (hupértatos) are built on an old adjective meaning “upper”, which matches Avestan upara- (“upper”), उपर (úpara-, “lower, later”) and superus (“upper”).^[2][3][6] It belongs with ὑπό (hupó).^[2][7] Babiniotis suggests that it first expressed movement from below upwards.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on, and the Iliad already uses it with the genitive both of place, as of a spear striking above the breast, and in the sense “on behalf of”, of a sacrifice offered for the Greeks.^[4][8][5]

Semantic evolution

With the genitive it meant “over, above”, both of rest and of motion across, and “off” a coast in Herodotus and Thucydides; figuratively it came to mean “in defence of, on behalf of”, then “instead of, in the name of”, “because of” and “concerning”.^[4][5] With the accusative it meant “over, beyond” of motion and, of measure, “exceeding”: Pindar speaks of tales that go beyond the true account, and Sophocles of what is beyond hope.^[4][5] Homer has it in the phrase “beyond one's lot”, against what fate allows.^[4][5] Arcadian alone also construed it with the dative.^[4][2] As a prefix it marks position over or beyond, action in defence of someone, and excess.^[4]

The Septuagint and the New Testament no longer use the local sense “above”, but keep the figurative ones; there, as after a comparative, it can also mean “than”.^[9][10][5]

Modern Greek υπέρ (ypér) is a learned word taken from the ancient preposition: with the genitive it means “in favour of”, the opposite of κατά (katá), and on the model of French pour it is also used as an adverb (“to vote for”) and as a noun, “the advantages” of a case.^[11] English hyper- comes from it.^[12]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it with the genitive for “above” and for “on behalf of”.^[4][8]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar and Aeschylus use it with the accusative of what exceeds a measure, such as the truth or what is best.^[4][5][13]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it of numbers (“more than forty men”), and Thucydides of time (“the war before the Persian Wars”).^[4][13]
• 3rd century BC – Arcadian inscriptions from Tegea construe it with the dative.^[4][2]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses it only in figurative senses, such as “on behalf of”, and for “than” after a comparative.^[9][5]
• Modern Greek – The learned preposition υπέρ (ypér) means “in favour of”.^[11]

Meanings

Preposition

1. With the genitive: over, above, of position or of movement across; off a coast.^[4][5]
2. With the genitive: in defence of, on behalf of, for; instead of, in the name of.^[4][5]
3. With the genitive: because of, for the sake of; concerning, about.^[4]
4. With the accusative: over, beyond, of movement.^[4][5]
5. With the accusative: exceeding a measure or a number, more than; of time, before.^[4][5]
6. With the accusative: in defiance of fate or a god.^[4][5]
7. (Septuagint, New Testament) After a comparative: than.^[4][5]
8. (Arcadian) With the dative: on behalf of.^[4]

Adverb

1. Too much, above measure.^[4][2]

Word family

• ὑπέρτερος (hupérteros)
• ὑπέρτατος (hupértatos)
• ὕπερθεν (húperthen)
• ὕπερον (húperon)
• ὑπερβαίνω (huperbaínō)
• ὑπερβάλλω (huperbállō)
• ὑπερβολή (huperbolḗ)
• ὑπερήφανος (huperḗphanos)
• ὑπερμαχέω (hupermakhéō)
• ὑπερφίαλος (huperphíalos)

Related words

• ὑπό (hupó)
• Latin super
• English hyper-

Usage notes

When it follows its noun, the accent moves back (anastrophe) and it is written ὕπερ, as in “above the knee” in the Odyssey.^[4][5] In compounds it marks place over or beyond, as in ὑπερβαίνω (huperbaínō) “to step over”, fighting for someone, as in ὑπερμαχέω (hupermakhéō), and excess, as in ὑπερήφανος (huperḗphanos) “arrogant”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
8. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b 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. ^ Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
11. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
12. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
13. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge