Etymologically
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Odyssea

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɔ.dysˈseː.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [o.disˈsɛː.a][1]

Forms

Odyssēa f sg (genitive Odyssēae); first declension[1] Also spelled Odyssīa and Odiss-.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek Ὀδύσσεια (Odússeia, “the Odyssey”),[1][4][5] which Greek formed from the hero's name Ὀδυσσεύς (Odusseús, “Odysseus”) with the suffix -ια (-ia).[1] Köbler, following Frisk, calls the origin of the name itself unexplained.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro is the first to use it, in his Menippean satires, with the Greek accusative Odyssian, for Homer's poem.[3][6][5]

Semantic evolution

Ovid names Homer's poem in the Tristia, and Seneca uses it of Homer's poem as well.[3][6] Cicero and Gellius use the same title for the Latin version by Livius Andronicus.[2][4][6] Petronius also has the Greek accusative Odyssian, and Ausonius Odyssean.[4][3] Odysseae portus was the name of a promontory at the southern end of Sicily.[4][7]

English took the title from Latin about 1600.[8]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses the Greek accusative Odyssian for Homer's poem.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, in the Brutus, calls the Latin poem of Livius Andronicus Odyssea.[4][6][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid names the Odyssea in the Tristia.[4][6][5]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius has the accusative Odyssian.[4][5]
  • c. 1600 – English takes the title as Odyssey.[8]

Meanings

Proper noun

  1. The Odyssey, Homer's epic poem.[2][4]
  2. The Latin translation of it by Livius Andronicus.[2][4]
  3. Odysseae portus: a promontory at the southern tip of Sicily.[4][7]
  • English Odyssey

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com