Δημήτηρ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

  • Δᾱμᾱ́τηρ (Dāmā́tēr) Doric, Aeolic
  • Δᾱμᾱ́ταρ (Dāmā́tar) Arcadocypriot
  • Δημήτρᾱ (Dēmḗtrā)

Etymology

The second half is generally believed to be μήτηρ (mḗtēr, mother). The first element, δᾶ (),[1] is classically explained as the Attic/Ionic variant of an archaic Doric form of γῆ (, earth).

The supposed Aeolic form Δωμάτηρ (Dōmátēr) is only attested through a reconstructed inscription from the 2nd century B.C. in Aigai. The inscription reads []ω[]ατρος ([]ō[]atros), which has been read, as reported in Richard Bohn's "Altertümer von Aegae" as a genitive form of Δωμάτηρ (Dōmátēr). However, as Chantraine says, "The dialectal forms, notably Δωμάτηρ (Dōmátēr), don't offer any help to etymology," and it's disputable whether the inscription reads as such.

Pronunciation

 

Proper noun

Δημήτηρ • (Dēmḗtēr) f (genitive Δήμητρος); third declension

  1. (Greek mythology) Demeter

Inflection

Derived terms

  • Δηώ (Dēṓ)

Descendants

References

  1. "δᾶ" in Liddell & Scott 1940
  • Δημήτηρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Δημήτηρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • Δημήτηρ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
  • Δημήτηρ in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
  • Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,008
  • Julius Pokorny (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, in 3 vols, Bern, München: Francke Verlag
  • Richard Bohn (1889), "Altertümer von Aegae"

Further reading

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