Ancient Greek words first recorded in the 5th century BC

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + δυνατός (dunatós, “able, possible”), the adjective being from δύναμαι (dúnamai, “to be able”) with the verbal suffix -τός (-tós). Beekes analyses the…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀθλέω (āthléō, “to contend”) + -τής (-tḗs), with the agent suffix. The verb is from Ancient Greek ἄεθλος (áethlos, “contest, prize”), Attic ἆθλος (âthlos), whose…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *alínō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂leyH- (“to smear”). Beekes and Frisk take the present ἀλίνω (alínō) as cognate with Latin linō (“to smear, rub”), which was…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἄμνηστος (ámnēstos, “forgotten; forgetful”) + -ία (-ía), an abstract noun. The adjective is made with the privative prefix ἀ- (a-) from the stem of μιμνῄσκω…

It is from Ancient Greek ἀντιτίθημι (antitíthēmi, “to set against”) with the action-noun suffix -σις (-sis), the verb being made of ἀντί (antí, “against”) and τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put”).

It is from Ancient Greek ἀρχεῖος (arkheîos, “of the magistrates”), the neuter of the adjective, made from ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “office, government”) with a suffix that forms nouns of place, and so goes back…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀσκητής (askētḗs) + -ικός (-ikós), “of an ἀσκητής (askētḗs)”. The noun, at first a skilled worker or an athlete in training and later a monk or hermit, is from…

It is a derivation from Ancient Greek ἄσχολος (áskholos, “busy, without leisure”), with the abstract suffix -ία (-íā). The adjective is the negative of σχολή (skholḗ, “leisure”).

It is formed from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “non-Greek, foreigner”) + -ικός (-ikós, “adjective suffix”), the adjective of relation from the word for a non-Greek. Beekes explains βάρβαρος…

It is an expressive, sound-symbolic word with a kind of reduplication and no direct relatives. It recalls words for round, globular things, such as Latin bulla (“water bubble”) and Lithuanian…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *gʷorā́, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷorh₃éh₂, from the root Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour”). Frisk calls it a regular verbal noun of a…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because of the variation of ⟨υ⟩ and ⟨ι⟩ in βύβλος and βίβλος (bíblos) and the prenasalized forms such as βίμβλις (bímblis). The traditional view is that the papyrus…

The DGE and Wiktionary take it as a denominative verb formed from Ancient Greek γέννα (génna, “birth, descent”) + -άω (-áō), the noun being a poetic word beside γένος (génos, “race, offspring”)…

It is a compound from Ancient Greek γεω- (geō-, “earth”) + μετρέω (metréō, “to measure”), ⟨γεω-⟩ being from γῆ (gê), with the agent suffix -ης (-ēs): “one who measures the earth”. Debrunner…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃-tis, an action noun of the root *ǵneh₃- (“to recognize, get to know”); by surface analysis it is formed from γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “to know”) with the…

It is from Ancient Greek γραμματικός (grammatikós, “knowing one's letters”), its feminine used as a noun, short for γραμματικὴ τέχνη (grammatikḕ tékhnē, “the art of letters”). The adjective is…

It is formed from Ancient Greek γραφή (graphḗ, “drawing, writing”) + -ικός (-ikós), and so ultimately from γράφω (gráphō, “to scratch, draw, write”).

It is the neuter, used as a noun, from Ancient Greek δαιμόνιος (daimónios, “of a divinity, divine”). The adjective comes from δαίμων (daímōn, “god, divinity”), which Beekes connects with δαίομαι…

It is formed from Ancient Greek δακρύω (dakrúō, “to weep”) + -μα (-ma). The verb is derived from δάκρυ (dákru, “tear”), which is *dáḱru in Wiktionary's reconstruction and Pokorny's *dak̑ru-…

It is probably a Semitic loanword, as most scholars now accept: Rosół classes it as a borrowing from Phoenician, whose word for “door” also meant a tablet or writing tablet. The Hebrew word for…

It is from Ancient Greek διαβάλλω (diabállō, “to slander”), formed on the o-grade stem ⟨-βολ-⟩ of the verb, as βολή (bolḗ) is beside the simple verb. The verb is δια- (dia-, “through, across”) and…

It is from Ancient Greek διαδέω (diadéō, “to bind round”) with the result-noun suffix -μα (-ma), the verb being made of διά (diá, “through, across”) and δέω (déō, “to bind”).

It is formed from Ancient Greek δοκέω (dokéō, “to seem, think”) + -μα (-ma), a noun of result: “what seems (right) to someone”. According to Beekes, δοκέω (dokéō) is a secondary verb derived from…

It is formed from Ancient Greek δρᾶσις (drâsis, “action, efficacy”) + -τικός (-tikós), from δράω (dráō, “to do”). LSJ equates it with the older δραστήριος (drastḗrios, “active, effective”). The…

It is a noun from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεύομαι (eirōneúomai, “to feign ignorance, dissemble”), the denominative verb of εἴρων (eírōn, “one who pretends not to know”). Wiktionary analyses it directly as…

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

It is a popular back-formation from Ancient Greek ἐμπίνω (empínō, “to drink one's fill”), the insect being the one that drinks itself full of blood, as δικλίς (diklís) comes from κλίνω (klī́nō)…

It is from Ancient Greek ἐπεισόδιος (epeisódios, “coming in besides”), the neuter used as a noun. The adjective is formed from ἐπείσοδος (epeísodos, “a coming in besides”) with the suffix -ιος…

It is an imitation of the bird's call, the cry that Aristophanes writes ἐποποῖ (epopoî) and πόποπο (pópopo), given the form of bird names such as δρύοψ (drúops). Chantraine adds that the ending -οψ…

It is from Ancient Greek ἐρείπω (ereípō, “to throw down, fall”), built on the zero grade of the root, as in the aorist ἐριπεῖν (eripeîn), with the suffix seen in κρημνός (krēmnós) and κραιπνός…

It is from Ancient Greek εὔλογος (eúlogos, “reasonable; well spoken”), itself from Ancient Greek εὐ- (eu-, “well”) + λόγος (lógos, “speech”), with the verbal suffix -έω.

It is from Ancient Greek εὔλογος (eúlogos, “reasonable, well-spoken”) with the suffix -ία (-ía), the adjective being formed from εὐ- (eu-, “well”) and λόγος (lógos, “word, speech”).

1. The dawn is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *auhṓs, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsōs (“dawn”), and is the Attic form of ἠώς (ēṓs). Its rough breathing is probably due to a shift of…

It is from Ancient Greek ζηλόω (zēlóō, “to emulate, admire”) with the agent suffix -τής (-tḗs), the verb being formed from ζῆλος (zêlos, “emulation, zeal”).

It is formed from Ancient Greek θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator; envoy to a festival or oracle”) + -ία (-íā). The noun θεωρός (theōrós) is properly “one who watches a show”, from θέα (théā, “sight…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁léh₂, from the root *dʰeh₁(i)- (“to suck, suckle”), which Greek also has in θῆσθαι (thêsthai, “to suck”), θῆλυς (thêlus, “female”) and τιθήνη (tithḗnē…

It is borrowed from Old Persian hiⁿdūš, the name of the Indus and its land in the Old Persian inscriptions, from Proto-Iranian *hínduš, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš (“river”), of uncertain…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historíā, “inquiry”) + -ικός (-ikós). The noun comes from ἵστωρ (hístōr, “one who knows, witness”), which Beekes derives from an agent noun…

Beekes considers it probably Pre-Greek: its ending recalls other names of vessels and baskets, γυργαθός (gurgathós), κύαθος (kúathos) and ὁρμαθός (hormathós). De Saussure connected it with κλώθω…

It is borrowed from Proto-West Semitic *gamal- (“camel”). Chantraine calls it a certain borrowing from West Semitic, comparing Biblical Hebrew גָּמָל (gāmāl); the word is not attested in Phoenician…

It is from Ancient Greek κατακλύζω (kataklúzō, “to wash away, deluge”) with the suffix -μός (-mós), the verb being κατα- (kata-, “down”) and κλύζω (klúzō, “to wash”). Κλύζω comes from…

Its formation is like that of κληΐς (klēḯs) and κνημίς (knēmís), which are derived from nouns. Beekes proposes Proto-Indo-European *keh₂l- (“white spot”). Words of a similar sense are found in the…

Its origin is unexplained. Beekes considers it probably Pre-Greek. The physician Archigenes, quoted by Galen, called it a Syrian word. Fick derived it from κναίω (knaíō, “to scrape”), as “itching”…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, arrange; to adorn”) + -τικός (-tikós), the verb of κόσμος (kósmos, “order; ornament”). Wiktionary analyses it as formed on the action noun…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κρίνω (krī́nō, “to separate, decide”) + -σις (-sis). The verb is *kríňňō, from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to sift, separate”). Its nasal present matches Latin…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κριτήρ (kritḗr, “judge, interpreter”) + -ιον (-ion), the base coming from κρίνω (krínō, “to judge, discern”). The CGL and Etymonline relate it to κριτής (kritḗs…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κρύσταλλος (krústallos, “ice; rock crystal”) + -ινος (-inos), with the suffix of adjectives of material, as in ξύλινος (xúlinos).

It is formed from Ancient Greek κύων (kúōn, “dog”) + -ικός (-ikós). The noun κύων (kúōn) goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱwṓ (“dog”), genitive *ḱun-ós, which the Greek genitive κυνός (kunós)…

It is from Ancient Greek κωμῳδός (kōmōidós), first the singer of the κῶμος (kômos, “revel”), the merry procession of Dionysus, a compound of the same word and the stem of ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”) or…

It is formed from Ancient Greek λάμπω (lámpō, “to shine”) + -άς (-ás, “noun suffix”), a noun from the verb of shining. Beekes lists it among the derivatives of the nasal present, and he gives the…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek. It stands beside λέκος (lékos, “dish”) as στεφάνη (stephánē) stands beside στέφος (stéphos), with the suffix of other utensil names in -άνη (-ánē) and -ανον (-anon)…

Beekes analyses it as a formation with the suffix -ρος (-ros), which allows a connection with a widespread group of words with Proto-Indo-European *lā-, such as Lithuanian lóti (“to bark”) and Latin…

It is formed from Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “after”) + ὁδός (hodós, “way, road”), literally “a going after”. It is made like ἔφοδος (éphodos), σύνοδος (súnodos) and κάθοδος (káthodos).

It is formed from Ancient Greek μετέωρος (metéōros, “raised up, in the air”) + -λογία (-logía, “discourse, study”), from μετέωρα (metéōra, “things in the sky, celestial phenomena”), the neuter…

It is a compound from Ancient Greek μήτηρ (mḗtēr, “mother”) + πόλις (pólis, “city”), with the compounding form μητρο- (mētro-), “mother city”. The Doric form is ματρόπολις (matrópolis), and poetry…

It is formed from Ancient Greek μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, “contrivance, machine”) + -ικός (-ikós). The base noun has no sure etymology: it is traditionally derived from μῆχος (mêkhos, “means”), which has…

It is from Ancient Greek μουσικός (mousikós, “of the Muses, musical”), whose feminine was used as a noun by ellipsis of τέχνη (tékhnē, “art”): “the art of the Muses”. The adjective is formed from…

It is from Ancient Greek μύω (múō, “to close, be shut”), said of the eyes and lips, with the suffix -έω (-éō). Beekes and Chantraine take this present and the passive μυέομαι (muéomai) as newer…

It is formed from Ancient Greek μῦθος (mûthos, “word, tale, myth”) + -ικός (-ikós).

It is a derivative from Ancient Greek μύστης (mústēs, “initiate”), which goes with μυέω (muéō, “to initiate”) and μύω (mū́ō, “to close (the eyes or lips)”). Beekes takes the initiate to be “one who…