Γραικός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Aristotle was one of the firsts to use the name Graeci (Γραικοί), saying that the area about Dodona and Achelous was inhabited by the Selli (Σελλοὶ) and a people formerly called Graeci and now Hellenes (Έλληνες).[1]

In modern scholarship, the name is traced to Γραῖα (Graîa), a city on the coast of Boeotia, a name given to the Greeks by the Romans, where they first met. The city's name itself means "grey", from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂- (to grow old).[2]

Pronunciation

 

Adjective

Γραικός (Graikós) m (feminine Γραική, neuter Γραικόν); first/second declension

  1. Greek

Declension

Proper noun

Γραικός (Graikós) m (genitive Γραικοῦ); ? declension

  1. Graecus, a character in Greek mythology, said to be a son of Thessalos, the king of Phthia; or else a son of Pandora and Zeus.

Declension

Noun

Γραικός (Graikós) m (genitive Γραικοῦ); ? declension

  1. a Graecian, a member of an ancient Boeotian tribe that migrated to Italy.

Declension

Descendants

References

  1. Aristotle, Μετεωρολογικά, Α.352b
  2. R. S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 267.

Further reading


Greek

Etymology

Hellenistic reborrowing from Latin Graecus, from Ancient Greek Γραικός (Graikós).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɣreˈkos/
  • Hyphenation: Γραι‧κός

Noun

Γραικός (Graikós) m (plural Γραικοί)

  1. (historical) Greek

Usage notes

  • Used in Byzantium and during Ottoman rule. Although the word has carried a derogatory sense from the roman Graecus, Graeculus, and its occidental descendants, the word was redeemed in the lips of the revolutionary Athanasios Diakos who said before his impalement:
    Εγώ Γραικός γεννήθηκα, Γραικός θε να πεθάνω
    Egó Graikós genníthika, Graikós the na petháno
    I was born a Graecus, I shall die a Graecus.

Declension

Synonyms

  • Έλληνας m (Éllinas)
  • Ρωμιός m (Romiós) (familiar, emotive term)
  • γραικικός (graikikós, Greek)
  • γραικύλος (graikýlos, Graeculus) (derogatory, offensive)

References

  1. Γραικός in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], 1998, by the "Triantafyllidis" Foundation.
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