Ancient Greek words first recorded in the 6th century BC

It is a loanword, of uncertain source. Most scholars look to Iran: the CGL calls it probably Iranian, Schmitt defends an Iranian origin, and Mancini reconstructs borrowed from Old Persian *angarā-…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (āḗr, “air, mist”) + -ιος (-ios), an adjective of appurtenance to the word for air. Beekes, following Kiparsky, derives ἀήρ (āḗr) itself from a root for "dawn"…

It is the Attic form of ἀείρω (aeírō, “to raise”), the verb of Homer. Frisk took it to be a recent formation on the Attic future ἀρῶ (arô), from earlier ἀερῶ (aerô). Beekes finds convincing…

It is formed from Ancient Greek Ἀκάδημος (Akádēmos, “a local hero”) + -εια (-eia), the precinct named after the hero Academus. Diogenes Laertius says the place was earlier called Ἑκαδημία after a…

It is a by-form, used in Attic, from Ancient Greek ἀλωή (alōḗ, “threshing floor, garden”), and the origin of the word is unknown. Beekes thinks the epic word may come from an earlier *ἀλωϝη…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἁμαρτάνω (hamartánō, “to miss the mark, fail”) + -ία (-íā), an abstract noun built on the stem of the verb. Beekes lists it among the verb's Attic derivatives, beside…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀναστρέφω (anastréphō, “to turn back, turn upside down”) + -η (-ē). The verb is made of ἀνά (aná, “up, back”) and στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”).

It is a noun use of the present participle from Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō, “to be first, to rule”). The further origin of the verb is uncertain. Beekes reports Klingenschmitt's derivation from a…

The origin is uncertain. It is perhaps contracted from *ἀετμός (*aetmós), compare Hesychius's glosses ἀετμόν (aetmón) “wind” and ἄετμα (áetma) “flame”. It has been compared with ἄημι (áēmi, “to…

Chantraine and Frisk call it a foreign word of unknown origin. It is linked in some way with a Lydian stem baki-, found in the adjective bakivalis, which renders a Greek name formed from that of…

It is a denominative verb from δεσπότης (despótēs, “master, lord”), formed from Ancient Greek δεσπότης (despótēs) + -ζω (-zō). The noun continues an Indo-European phrase “lord of the house”, which…

It is probably formed from Ancient Greek δια- (dia-) + -κονος (-konos), an agent noun built on a verbal stem *ken- (“to exert oneself, hasten”) that is also found in ἐγκονέω (enkonéō, “to hurry”)…

The verb has no certain etymology. Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because the connection with δείκνυμι (deíknumi, “to show”) is difficult in meaning and because its derivative δίκτυον (díktuon) is…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + θεός (theós, “god”): “with the god inside”. Later prose contracted it to ἔνθους (énthous), the stem of ἐνθουσιάζω (enthousiázō, “to be inspired”).

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek. He rejects the explanation “with a strong current”, from εὖ (eû, “well”) and ῥιπή (rhīpḗ, “rush, force”), even though the strait between Euboea and Boeotia is famous…

It is a noun with the diminutive suffix -ιον (-ion) from Ancient Greek ζωός (zōós, “alive”), through its contracted form ζώς (zṓs), and the older form is ζώϊον (zṓïon). ζωός belongs with ζώω (zṓō…

It is ἐθέλω (ethélō) with the initial vowel lost (aphaeresis), the form usual in Aeolic, Ionic and Hellenistic Greek. Babiniotis takes the ἐ- (e-) of the longer form to be perhaps a prothetic vowel…

It is a denominative verb from Ancient Greek θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator; envoy to a festival or an oracle”), with the suffix -έω (-éō). Beekes explains the noun as “one who watches a show”, from…

It is formed from Ancient Greek θύω (thúō, “to sacrifice”) + -ία (-ía, “abstract noun suffix”), from the verb of offering by burning. Beekes notes that derivatives of that verb partly keep an older…

It is a denominative verb from Ancient Greek ἵστωρ (hístōr, “one who knows; witness”), with the suffix -έω (-éō). The noun is an agent noun *u̯id-tōr, from the root of οἶδα (oîda, “to know”)…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κατα- (kata-, “down”) + οἰκέω (oikéō, “to dwell, inhabit”). The Middle Liddell defines it as “to dwell as a κάτοικος (kátoikos)”, a settler. The base οἰκέω (oikéō)…

Beekes and Frisk take it as a loanword from Asia Minor, of Anatolian or Pre-Greek origin: the cultivated sweet cherry came from the Pontus, where the town Κερασοῦς (Kerasoûs) was “rich in cherries”…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κλίνω (klī́nō, “to lean, make lie down”) + -η (-ē), “that on which one reclines”. The verb continues Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to lean”). Its nasal present is…

It is the masculine beside κόγχη (kónkhē, “mussel, cockle”), with the same meaning. Beekes considers the word Pre-Greek, because it is clearly related to κόχλος (kókhlos, “spiral shell, snail”), the…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κρίνω (krínō, “to judge, decide”) + -μα (-ma), with the suffix of nouns of result.

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *krews- (“to push, strike, break”), with a Greek stem κρουσ- (krous-); the present may come from *krous-ye- or be modelled on the aorist. LIV classes it as a…

The origin is unclear. Beekes and Frisk note that, despite its final accent and long ⟨ῑ⟩, it strongly recalls Latin lāridum (“bacon, salted pork”), the source of lardum. A noun meaning something…

The origin is unknown, and Beekes finds all the earlier explanations unconvincing. One took it as "the one that reaches", from λαγχάνω (lankhánō), and another as "the long one", from a lost *λόγχος…

It is formed from Ancient Greek μεταβάλλω (metabállō, “to change”) + -ή (-ḗ), an abstract noun from the verb. The verb is a compound of μετά (metá) and βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”), and the noun has…

It is formed from Ancient Greek μιμέομαι (mīméomai, “to imitate”) + -μα (-ma), a noun of the result of the action. Beekes lists it, with the prefixed ἀπομίμημα (apomímēma), among the derivatives of…

A compound: from Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos, “alone, only”) + ἀρχός (arkhós, “leader”), “ruling alone”, from the family of ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”). Ionic has the form μούναρχος (moúnarkhos), from…

It is formed from Ancient Greek Μοῦσα (Moûsa, “Muse”) + -ικός (-ikós), “belonging to the Muses”. The origin of the Muses' name is uncertain: Beekes compares μανθάνω (manthánō, “to learn”), since the…

It is formed from Ancient Greek νομός (nomós, “pasture”) + -άς (-ás), “roaming the pasture”. Beekes notes that the base may also be νομή (nomḗ, “pasture”), since the two cannot always be told apart…

It is a derivative from Ancient Greek ὀχέω (okhéō, “to carry”), perhaps through the noun ὄχος (ókhos, “vehicle”): a channel was a means of carrying water. The suffix -ετός (-etós) is that of ὑετός…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *woǵʰ-(s)lo-, a noun of the root *weǵʰ- (“to drive, carry, transport”), which also gave ὄχος (ókhos, “chariot”), ὀχέομαι (okhéomai, “to be carried…

It is from Ancient Greek παράνοος (paránoos, “deranged, mad”) with the abstract suffix -ία (-ía). The adjective is formed from παρά (pará, “beside, beyond”) and νόος (nóos, “mind”), and the noun is…

Beekes analyses it as from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeh₂-l-i-, an interrogative adjective, extended with the suffix -κος (-kos). The stem is derived from the interrogative pronoun *kʷo- (“who, which”)…

It is the o-grade noun from Ancient Greek ῥέμβομαι (rhémbomai, “to roam, turn about”), a pair of the same kind as λέγω (légō) and λόγος (lógos); ῥόμβος, found from Pindar on, shows that the verb…

The origin is unknown. Beekes considers it most likely Pre-Greek, although he finds no positive sign of this: oxytone adjectives in -μός (-mós) are rare, but θερμός (thermós) and δοχμός (dokhmós)…

The origin is uncertain: there are no certain cognates outside Greek. Since the first meaning seems to have been “erected pillar, post”, in Beekes's tentative view it is inherited from…

It is a compound from Ancient Greek σύν (sún, “with”) + δίκη (díkē, “justice, lawsuit”) + -ος (-os), the adjectival ending: literally “one who is in the lawsuit with someone”. Old Attic writes it…

It is formed from Ancient Greek τάσσω (tássō, “to arrange, to draw up”) + -σις (-sis, “action-noun suffix”), from the stem ταγ- (tag-) of the verb. Beekes takes the ⟨γ⟩ of ταγή (tagḗ) and τάγμα…

It is formed from Ancient Greek τόξον (tóxon, “bow”) + -ικός (-ikós). Beekes thinks the noun is of Pre-Greek origin: since the Scythians and other Iranians were famous archers, a loan from Iranian…

It is an action noun with the vowel o from Ancient Greek τρέπω (trépō, “to turn”), like ψόγος (psógos) beside ψέγω (pségō). τρέπω comes from Proto-Indo-European *trep- (“to turn”), with cognates in…

It is from Ancient Greek ὑπο- (hupo-) + ἐρέτης (erétēs, “rower”), originally a sailors' word. Beekes holds that it cannot have meant literally “under-rower”: the prefix only stresses that the rower…

It is formed from Ancient Greek φαντός (phantós, “visible”) + -άζω (-ázō), a denominative from the verbal adjective of φαίνω (phaínō, “to bring to light, show”). φαίνω (phaínō) itself goes back to…

It is a compound from Ancient Greek φίλος (phílos, “loving”) + σοφός (sophós, “wise”), “loving wisdom”; the CGL derives its first part from the verb φιλέω (philéō, “to love”). Beekes glosses it as…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *ōlenā, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₃eHl-en- (“elbow”) or a similar form. Within Greek it shows several ablaut grades of an old n-stem: ὠλήν (ōlḗn)…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀγών (agṓn, “contest”) + -ία. ἀγών (agṓn) originally meant an assembly, especially one gathered to watch games, and comes from ἄγω (ágō, “to lead, bring together”).

It is often explained as formed from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + δάμνημι (dámnēmi, “to tame, subdue”), as “indomitable”, formed like ἀκάμας (akámas), and identified with the Homeric personal name…

It is formed from Ancient Greek αἰνίσσομαι (ainíssomai, “to speak in riddles”) + -μα (-ma), the suffix of result nouns. That verb comes from αἶνος (aînos, “meaningful speech, tale”), and its sense…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *awistʰomai, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewis-dʰh₁-, from *h₂ew- (“to see, perceive”). Beekes and Frisk interpret it as *awis-th- and connect it with…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰo- (“white”), and is identical with Latin albus (“white”) and Umbrian alfu (“white”). A form with a suffix in /d/ may be the name of the swan in…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἄναρχος (ánarkhos, “without a leader”) + -ία (-íā), the abstract suffix. Ἄναρχος is formed from the privative prefix and ἀρχός (arkhós, “leader”).

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because Furnée compares ἀνδράχλη (andrákhlē, “brazier”) and the Hesychius gloss κάνδαρος (kándaros), explained as “charcoal”, with the interchange of κ and zero…

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “to turn away”) + -ή (-ḗ). The verb is formed from ἀπο- (apo-, “away”) and στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”).

Beekes and Frisk reconstruct it as *ἀρακσνᾱ (*araksnā), which matches Latin arāneus (“spider”) and arānea (“spider's web”) closely. Because the word does not look Indo-European and is found only in…

1. The adjective meaning “shining, swift” comes by dissimilation from an older *ἀργρός (*argrós), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵ-ró-, from the root *h₂erǵ- (“white, bright”). Wackernagel…

In Beekes's view it is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit”), as the locative of a t-stem noun meaning “order”, from the root of ἀραρίσκω (ararískō, “to fit together”). Its…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, as its variants show: σφόδελος (sphódelos), σφοδελός (sphodelós) and σποδελός (spodelós). Furnée compared the plant name σφονδύλιον (sphondúlion), which would show…