αἷμα
Ancient Greek
Etymology
Uncertain and contested, as many competing theories exist. One possibility is from Proto-Indo-European *sai- (“thick or viscous liquid”), related to Proto-West Germanic *saim (whence German Seim (“viscous fluid”)),[1][2][3][4] although some sources reject this as phonologically improbable.[1][2] A different theory relates it to Proto-Indo-European *s(w)okʷós (“plant juice, resin”), which would make it a doublet of ὀπός (opós, “plant juice”).[5] Other suggestions include a relation to Ancient Greek αἰονάω (aionáō, “to moisten”)[2] or to Ancient Greek ἵημι (híēmi, “to throw, to flow”), thereby making it a doublet of ἧμα (hêma, “projectile”).[6] Finally, a Northwest Semitic borrowing has been posited, related to Aramaic חַיִּים (ḥayyim, “life”), Hebrew חַיִּים (ḥayím, “life”), Phoenician 𐤇𐤉𐤌 (ḥym, “long life”).[7]
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /hâi̯.ma/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈ(h)ɛ.ma/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈɛ.ma/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈe.ma/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈe.ma/
Noun
αἷμᾰ • (haîma) n (genitive αἵμᾰτος); third declension
Inflection
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | τὸ αἷμᾰ tò haîma |
τὼ αἵμᾰτε tṑ haímate |
τᾰ̀ αἵμᾰτᾰ tà haímata | ||||||||||
Genitive | τοῦ αἵμᾰτος toû haímatos |
τοῖν αἱμᾰ́τοιν toîn haimátoin |
τῶν αἱμᾰ́των tôn haimátōn | ||||||||||
Dative | τῷ αἵμᾰτῐ tôi haímati |
τοῖν αἱμᾰ́τοιν toîn haimátoin |
τοῖς αἵμᾰσῐ / αἵμᾰσῐν toîs haímasi(n) | ||||||||||
Accusative | τὸ αἷμᾰ tò haîma |
τὼ αἵμᾰτε tṑ haímate |
τᾰ̀ αἵμᾰτᾰ tà haímata | ||||||||||
Vocative | αἷμᾰ haîma |
αἵμᾰτε haímate |
αἵμᾰτᾰ haímata | ||||||||||
Notes: |
|
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | αἷμᾰ haîma |
αἵμᾰτε haímate |
αἵμᾰτᾰ haímata | ||||||||||
Genitive | αἵμᾰτος haímatos |
αἱμᾰ́τοιῐν haimátoiin |
αἱμᾰ́των haimátōn | ||||||||||
Dative | αἵμᾰτῐ haímati |
αἱμᾰ́τοιῐν haimátoiin |
αἵμᾰσῐ / αἵμᾰσῐν / αἱμᾰ́τεσσῐ / αἱμᾰ́τεσσῐν / αἱμᾰ́τεσῐ / αἱμᾰ́τεσῐν haímasi(n) / haimátessi(n) / haimátesi(n) | ||||||||||
Accusative | αἷμᾰ haîma |
αἵμᾰτε haímate |
αἵμᾰτᾰ haímata | ||||||||||
Vocative | αἷμᾰ haîma |
αἵμᾰτε haímate |
αἵμᾰτᾰ haímata | ||||||||||
Notes: |
|
Synonyms
- ἔαρ (éar) (Homeric)
Descendants
- Byzantine Greek: αἷμα (haîma), αἷμαν (haîman), αἷμας (haîmas), γαῖμα (gaîma)
- Greek: αίμα (aíma)
- Pontic Greek: γαίμα (gaíma)
- → Bulgarian: -емия (-emija)
- → Catalan: -èmia
- → Danish: -æmi
- → German: hämato-, hämat-, -hämie, -ämie
- → English: haemato-, haema-, -aemia, haemal
- → Spanish: -emia
- → French: -émie
- → Irish: -éime
- → Italian: -emia
- → Dutch: -emie
- → Polish: hemato-, -emia (learned)
- → Russian: -емия (-emija)
- → Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic script: -емија
- Latin script: -emija
References
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 38–39
- Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972) “αἷμα”, in Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), Heidelberg: Carl Winter
- Chantraine, Pierre (1968–1980) “αἷμα”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque (in French), Paris: Klincksieck
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “-emia”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), Bern, München: Francke Verlag
- αἷμα in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
- Keyser, Paul (2016) “A Semitic Etymology for Greek αἷμα”, in Semitica, volume 58, Leuven: Peeters, , pages 289-295
Further reading
- “αἷμα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “αἷμα”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “αἷμα”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
- αἷμα in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
- “αἷμα”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
- G129 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
- αἷμα 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.
- blood idem, page 84.
- gore idem, page 367.
- life blood idem, page 489.
- αἷμα - Kriaras, Emmanuel (1969-) Επιτομή του Λεξικού της Μεσαιωνικής Ελληνικής Δημώδους Γραμματείας (Epitomí tou Lexikoú tis Mesaionikís Ellinikís Dimódous Grammateías) [Concise Dictionary of the Kriaras' Dictionary of Medieval Vulgar Greek Literature (1100–1669) Vols. 1–14. Vols 15- under I. Kazazes.)] (in Greek), Thessaloniki: Centre for the Greek language Online edition (abbreviations) Printed edition 2022: 22 vols.)