Ancient Greek words from Proto-Hellenic
12 Ancient Greek words with Proto-Hellenic in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
ἀκμή
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *akmā́, a derivative in -μή of the root *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”), the element ἀκ- also found in ἀκή (akḗ, “point”), ἀκίς (akís, “point, barb”), ἄκρος (ákros…
ἄνεμος
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *ánemos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁mos, a noun from *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe”). It agrees with Latin animus. Sanskrit अनिल (ánila, “wind, air”) has…
γυμνός
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *gumnós, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷnós (“naked”), an old inherited adjective. Its forms differ from language to language, partly through…
δεσπότης
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *déspotis, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *déms pótis (“master of the house”), an old phrase that became a single word in Greek. The first part is the…
θεός
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *tʰehós, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁sós, a thematic form of an old s-stem noun *dʰéh₁s (“god”). Greek has the zero grade *dʰh₁s-, while Armenian and…
κόσμος
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *kónsmos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱónsmos, a noun in -μος from the root *ḱens- (“to announce, put in order”). Beekes considers *ḱoNs-mo- the most…
λόγος
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *lógos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *log-o-, a noun with the o-grade of the root *leǵ- (“to collect, gather”), and the verbal noun of λέγω (légō). The verb…
νόστος
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *nóstos, a noun in -τος with the o-grade of the root of νέομαι (néomai, “to return home”), Proto-Indo-European *nes- (“to return home safely”). It shows that…
ὁδός
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *hodós. It has traditionally been compared with the Slavic word for “walk, course”, Proto-Slavic *xodъ, which like ὁδός often occurs with prefixes and may owe its…
ὀκτώ
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *oktṓ, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *oḱtṓw (“eight”). The Indo-European word was evidently an old dual, but its further analysis is quite uncertain. Beekes…
ῥυθμός
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *hrutʰmós, corresponding to Proto-Indo-European *sru-dʰ-mo-s, from *srew- (“to flow”), the root of ῥέω (rhéō) “to flow”. Beekes and Frisk accept this old…
φήμη
It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *pʰā́mā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-meh₂, a noun from *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”); within Greek it is the full-grade noun of φημί (phēmí) “to say”. It corresponds…