λέων Ancient Greek · revision 2231
15 Oct 2026, 03:45 by bogdan “Fix doubled language names” current version
Changes in this edit
@@ -9,8 +9,8 @@
'''λέων''' (léōn) ''m'' (genitive λέοντος); third declension^(Wiktionary)
Epic dative plural λείουσι, with metrical lengthening.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)
− Mycenaean [[m|gmy|re-wo-pi]] (instrumental plural) and the adjective [[gmy|re-wo-te-jo]] “of a lion”.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)
+ Mycenaean [[m|gmy|re-wo-pi]] (instrumental plural) and the adjective [[m|gmy|re-wo-te-jo]] “of a lion”.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)
==Etymology==
− The origin is unknown; it is probably a borrowing, but from what language is unclear.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)^(Πάπυρος) Beekes thinks a Semitic source probable, although the Semitic words for the lion, such as [[akk|labbu]] in Akkadian, differ considerably in form;^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) Rosół lists λέων among oriental loanwords of unknown origin and doubts the Semitic link,^(Rosół 2013) and Πάπυρος finds morphological difficulties in it.^(Πάπυρος) Wiktionary notes that many ancient languages had similar words for the lion (Proto-Semitic [[m|sem-pro|*labiʾ-]]), that it is unclear who borrowed from whom, and that Gamkrelidze and Ivanov considered a borrowing into Proto-Indo-European itself.^(Wiktionary)
+ The origin is unknown; it is probably a borrowing, but from what language is unclear.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)^(Πάπυρος) Beekes thinks a Semitic source probable, although the Semitic words for the lion, such as Akkadian [[m|akk|labbu]], differ considerably in form;^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) Rosół lists λέων among oriental loanwords of unknown origin and doubts the Semitic link,^(Rosół 2013) and Πάπυρος finds morphological difficulties in it.^(Πάπυρος) Wiktionary notes that many ancient languages had similar words for the lion (Proto-Semitic [[m|sem-pro|*labiʾ-]]), that it is unclear who borrowed from whom, and that Gamkrelidze and Ivanov considered a borrowing into Proto-Indo-European itself.^(Wiktionary)
The feminine [[λέαινα|tr=léaina|t=lioness]] suggests that the word was once an n-stem, like [[δράκων|tr=drákōn]], and that the -τ- of the stem λεοντ- came from the participles;^(Beekes 2010)^(Wiktionary) but Mycenaean already has the nt-stem, which casts doubt on this.^(Beekes 2010)^(Πάπυρος) The epic synonym [[λῖς|tr=lîs]] is not connected with it.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)
@@ -19,5 +19,5 @@
==Earliest recorded meaning==
− It is first found on the Mycenaean tablets, in the instrumental plural [[gmy|re-wo-pi]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Rosół 2013) Homer uses it for the lion;^(Cunliffe 1924)^(LSJ 1940) in the ''Iliad'' Zeus is said to have made Artemis “a lion to women”, because she was thought to bring them sudden death.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)
+ It is first found in Mycenaean, in the instrumental plural [[m|gmy|re-wo-pi]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Rosół 2013) Homer uses it for the lion;^(Cunliffe 1924)^(LSJ 1940) in the ''Iliad'' Zeus is said to have made Artemis “a lion to women”, because she was thought to bring them sudden death.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)
==Semantic evolution==