Ancient Greek words first recorded in the 8th century BC

It is formed from Ancient Greek κατα- (kata-, “down”) + ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow”), with the ρ doubled after the prefix, as in διαρρέω (diarrhéō) and ἀπορρέω (aporrhéō). The simple verb, from older *ῥέϝω…

It is formed from Ancient Greek καίω (kaíō, “to burn”) + -μα (-ma), from an older *καϝμα (*kawma). All the forms of the verb go back to a root καυ- (kau-) or καϝ- (kaw-), and καίω (kaíō) continues…

The origin is uncertain. LSJ takes it as a lengthened form of κέλομαι (kélomai, “to urge on”), but Beekes notes that the -ευ- is then unexplained; he compares the same element in κέλευθος…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kélomai, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”), which LIV takes as an amphidynamic root present. It belongs with κέλλω (kéllō, “to drive on”)…

The origin is unknown. The word is the common noun of the name Κένταυρος (Kéntauros), first a savage tribe of Thessaly. One proposal sees in it the verb κεντέω (kentéō, “to goad, prick”) and the…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerd- (“craft, cunning”), a root otherwise found only in Celtic. The cognates are Old Irish cerd (“craft, handiwork; smith, potter, poet”), from…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kā́dos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱéh₂dos, an s-stem noun from *ḱeh₂d- (“care, grief”). Doric κᾶδος (kâdos) keeps the old long /aː/. An r-stem from the…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kā́pos, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂p- (“enclosure”). Apart from its ending, the Proto-Greek form matches a West Germanic word for a measured piece of…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱih₂-néw- (“to set oneself in motion”), a present formed with a nasal suffix from the root *ḱeyh₂- (“to set in motion”). LIV and Beekes, following…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₁- (“to leave, abandon”), through a reduplicated present. Beekes and Chantraine start from an athematic present *κίχημι (*kíkhēmi), formed like τίθημι…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeih₂- (“to set in motion”). Beekes and Frisk take ἔκιε (ékie) to be originally a thematic root aorist, later read as an imperfect, which gave rise to the…

It belongs with κλαγγή (klangḗ, “sharp sound, cry”). As a present in -ζω it may come from *κλάγγι̯ω (*klángi̯ō), built on a root noun seen in the dative κλαγγί (klangí) in Ibycus, or it may be an…

The origin is uncertain. The present comes from *κλάϝω (*kláwō), as the forms κλαύσομαι (klaúsomai) and κλαυθμός (klauthmós) show. The only comparison is Albanian qaj (“to weep”), from a form with a…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because the uniform verbal system built on ⟨κλα(σ)-⟩ has no matching formation outside Greek and cannot be derived from an Indo-European *klas-. It was traditionally…

It is a denominative verb from Ancient Greek κλείς (kleís, “key, bolt”), older κλῄς (klḗis), epic and Ionic κληΐς (klēḯs). The noun is an enlargement of a stem in -ῑ- that still shows in the verb…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *klutós, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlutós (“heard”), the old verbal adjective of the root Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”), which also gave κλύω…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). The present κλύω is an innovation on the thematic root aorist ἔκλυον (ékluon), which has a Sanskrit counterpart in the verb Sanskrit श्रु…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (“leg”), from a paradigm with the oblique stem *knh₂m-, which gave Doric κνάμα (knā́mā). Cognate with Old Irish cnáim (“bone”) and, with another…

It is often compared with Latin nīdor (“smell of roasting meat, vapour”), which may continue *knīdōs. Beekes therefore starts from a neuter s-stem, Proto-Indo-European *knīdos-, whose plural…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κοι- (koi-) + -τη (-tē), ⟨κοι-⟩ being the o-grade of the root of κεῖμαι (keîmai, “to lie”). It sits beside the masculine κοῖτος (koîtos) “bed, sleep”, which Homer…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *konis- (“ashes”), an s-stem. Wiktionary traces it to an o-grade of Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“dust, ashes”). The stem in -s- is also seen in κονίσαλος…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, related to κορυφή (koruphḗ, “top”) with a prenasalized variant of the suffix and the variation of φ and β typical of that layer; he also compares κόρυς (kórus…

It is a denominative verb from Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos, “order; ornament”), with the suffix -έω (-éō). Beekes reconstructs the noun as Proto-Indo-European *ḱoNs-mo-, which links it with Latin…

It is a denominative verb formed from Ancient Greek κράτος (krátos, “strength, power”) + -έω (-éō). The Aeolic verb κρετέω (kretéō) has the full grade of Aeolic κρέτος (krétos), beside the zero…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kr̥tús, from the root *kret-. It is the zero-grade adjective of the family of κράτος (krátos, “strength, power”), whose old full grade survives in Aeolic…

The origin is uncertain. Beekes reconstructs something like Proto-Indo-European *kriH-wo-, and rejects the traditional link with κέρας (kéras, “horn”) as formally impossible. A comparison with the…

It is the verbal adjective of κρίνω (krī́nō) “to separate, choose”. In Wiktionary's view it is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *kritós, built on the root *krey- (“to sift, separate”). The LIV…

Wiktionary takes it as a Semitic loanword. Beekes and Chantraine compare the eastern names of saffron, Akkadian kurkānû, Biblical Hebrew כרכום (karkōm) and Arabic كركم (kurkum), with a Sanskrit name…

It is the verbal adjective from Ancient Greek κρύπτω (krúptō, “to hide”). The origin of the verb is unclear. It resembles καλύπτω (kalúptō, “to cover”) in form and sense, and the two may have…

The origin is unknown. It resembles καλύπτω (kalúptō, “to cover”) in form and meaning, and each may have influenced the other. Chantraine, setting aside the vowel length and the final labial…

In Beekes's view it is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tkeh₁- (“to rule, gain, acquire”), comparing the Indo-Iranian present Avestan xšaiieiti (“rules, has power”) and its Sanskrit…

It is formed from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer”) + -της (-tēs), the agent noun of the verb. The verb has no known cognates. Beekes finds its origin probably foreign and labels it…

It is perhaps inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keuk- (“to shine, be white”), the swan being named after its colour. The root is reconstructed in this form by Lubotsky; it was formerly written…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because of the “foreign phoneme” written ⟨-σσ-⟩, Attic ⟨-ττ-⟩, the suffix ⟨-ισσ-⟩, and above all the variant with ⟨Κυφ-⟩ in a place name and in divine epithets…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek: the word was a widespread wandering word, but its variants point to a Pre-Greek origin, and the ending of the word is better taken as a Pre-Greek suffix. The…

It belongs with κύπτω (kúptō, “to stoop”). Frisk and Chantraine take κυφός, isolated in its formation, as the older word, with the original aspirate that is still seen in the perfect κέκυφα…

It is formed from Ancient Greek λάμπω (lámpō, “to shine”) + -τήρ (-tḗr), with the suffix of agent nouns: “the thing that gives light”. The verb λάμπω (lámpō) is a nasal present, and Beekes compares…

Beekes and Chantraine call it an expressive, onomatopoeic word. Similar words are found in other Indo-European languages: Albanian lap (“to lap”), said of dogs and cats, Proto-Slavic *lopati (“to…

Beekes leaves the origin open. If the word comes from an older ⟨*ϝλάτιος⟩, it may be inherited from Proto-Indo-European *u̯l̥ti̯o-, with the zero grade of a root seen in words for hairy things: Old…

The origin is disputed. According to the LIV it is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *leyH- (“to pour”), with a Narten present; the root is also in Latvian liet (“to pour”) and Lithuanian líeti…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *légʰos, an s-stem noun from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”), the root of the verb λέχεται (lékhetai) “lies down”, known from Hesychius, of the…

It is perhaps inherited from Proto-Indo-European *lobʰo- (“crest, top”). Beekes accepts the comparison with Tocharian A lap (“head”), if the Greek word first meant "crest, crown". Wiktionary also…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (“to bend, twist”), as a verbal noun whose first meaning would be “a turning, bending”, but Beekes marks the Indo-European origin with a…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *luǵrós, the zero grade beside λευγαλέος (leugaléos) “wretched”: the pair is of an old type, like ἐρευθαλέος (ereuthaléos) beside ἐρυθρός…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *lúkos, probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos (“wolf”), the widespread Indo-European name of the wolf. The Greek form only fits that word if the…

It is from Ancient Greek λύω (lū́ō, “to loosen, release”) with the suffix -σις (-sis). Its short /u/ agrees with the old root aorist λύτο (lúto), and the verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *leuH-…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *sloHgʷ-eh₂-, a feminine noun with o-grade from the root *sleh₂gʷ- (“to seize”). Ragot argued from the Homeric passages that it first meant…

It is probably inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mel- (“strong, better”), in the zero grade. It is formed like ἅμα (háma), τάχα (tákha) and πάρα (pára), and the full grade appears in Latin melius…

Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, because it has no cognates outside Greek and varies in ways that Indo-European cannot explain. He groups it with Hesychius' glosses βράψαι (brápsai, “to gather…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure, take care”). LIV assigns μέδομαι, the active μέδω (médō, “to rule”) and μήδομαι (mḗdomai, “to devise”) to an old present with a long and…

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *métʰu (“intoxicating drink, mead”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (“honey, mead”), an old word for honey and mead that was kept in most Indo-European…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *memóne, an old stative perfect of Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”), Beekes' *mé-mon-h₂e. It matches Latin meminī (“to remember”) except in the ending…

It is a shortened form from Ancient Greek μήν (mḗn, “truly, certainly”), the confirming particle (Doric and Aeolic μάν (mán)). Beekes holds that the two can hardly be separated: μέν has the same…

It is formed from Ancient Greek μετα- (meta-, “change of place or state”) + βάλλω (bállō, “to throw”). The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *gʷelh₁- (“to hit by throwing”); the Arcadian forms…

It is formed from Ancient Greek μετα- (meta-) + ἀείρω (aeírō, “to lift”), derived from the compound verb μεταίρω (metaírō, “to lift up”) (Aeolic πεδαίρω (pedaírō)), the second part being an o-grade…

It is a denominative verb from Ancient Greek μέτρον (métron, “measure”) with the verbal suffix -έω (-éō). The noun is formed with the instrument suffix -τρον (-tron) on the root Proto-Indo-European…

It is a Greek formation from Ancient Greek μετά (metá, “between”) + ὤψ (ṓps, “eye, face”), with a thematic vowel added: properly “the space between the eyes”. Aristotle already explains the word in…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *méǵʰsri (“until”), a locative form. Beekes and Wiktionary analyse it as *me (“with”) combined with the word for “hand”, *ǵʰes-, the source of χείρ (kheír)…

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure, take care”), the root of μέδω (médō) and μέδομαι (médomai), with which it is commonly identified. Its long vowel, found in Doric as well…

1. The particle “truly” is commonly compared with the asseverative particle Sanskrit स्म (sma), but its exact relation to that form and to Greek μά (má) is unclear. Wiktionary traces it to…