Κύπρος

See also: κύπρος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

A Northwest Semitic goddess name from the root כ־ב־ר / ك ب ر (k-b-r) which is attested as Arabic الْكُبْرَى (al-kubrā, literally “the great”) in a variant reading of Sura 62, Aya 9, where جُمْعَة (jumʕa, “Friday”) has a more archaic version عَرُوبَة (ʕarūba, “Friday”), and الْعَرُوبَةِ الْكُبْرَى (al-ʕarūbati l-kubrā).

The weekday names in Arab antiquity, like in European languages, come from theonyms, which were used in greater variety to express similar ideas and idioms of different tribes, before suffering unification by monotheism. In polytheist times there was a main or preferred female deity in each tribe. The same idea, with subtle distinction, could be termed Arabic الْكُبْرَى (al-kubrā, literally “the great”) as well as in Mecca الْعُزَّى (al-ʕuzzā, literally “the most powerful”), rendered Ancient Greek Ναζαία (Nazaía), عَرُوبَة (ʕarūba, literally “the one who enables love”), and اللَات (al-lāt), now provided but by اللّٰه (allāh). Either occurred in the takbir and basmala: beside the present male given name عَبْد اللّٰه (ʕabd allāh, literally “slave of god”) we also had عَبْد الْعزّى, عَبْد الشَّمْس (ʕabd aš-šams, “slave of the Sun”), عَبْد الْمَسِيح (ʕabd al-masīḥ, “slave of the Messiah”), عَبْد اللَّات (ʕabd al-lāt, “slave of Allat”), and just as one now says بِسْمِ ٱللّٰه (bismi llāh), there are variants of this invocation like بِسْمِكَ ٱللّٰهُمَّ (bismika llāhumma), and we should imagine that ancient Arabs shouted اللَّاتُ كُبْرَى (al-lātu kubrā) instead of اللّٰهُ أَكْبَر (allāhu ʔakbar) as a set phrase, functionally equivalent.

To return to the interpretation of Greek history and historiography, in the Greek pantheon any such Oriental female god equates to Aphrodite (interpretatio graeca).

The association of the island with the goddess resounds mythologically in Cinyras being the founder of Paphos and its Aphrodite fane. Her very first temple was according to Herodotus I, 105 erected in Asqalon by the Semitic Phoenicians. The very locality is known to be related to the goddess Δερκετώ (Derketṓ), identical to Ugaritic 𐎄𐎗𐎋𐎚 f (drkt, “rule, power”) – recalling the idea of greatness, Arabic الْكُبْرَى (al-kubrā).

The island taking its relevance from being the major source of copper during the Near East’s Bronze Age, only from the name of a local cult then the name of the island and of the metal in no discernible order spread, notably Sumerian 𒌓𒅗𒁇 (ud-ka-bar /⁠zabar, kabar⁠/, “bronze, copper”), Eblaite 𒂵𒁀𒈝 (ga-ba-lum /⁠kabalum⁠/, “copper”), Hurrian [script needed] (kabali, kābli, “copper”).

Hence copper is connected by alchemists and astrologers through one symbol ♀ to the planet Venus, the interpretatio romana of Aphrodite, of repute as a Cyprian goddess, Cypria, Cypris.

Before that, a time is known where ancient Cyprus did not have the present name, in view of its division into kingdoms which usually served for more specific names; the name for the whole island is just barely known in Phoenician as 𐤀𐤋𐤔𐤉 (ʾlšy /⁠ʾalašiya⁠/) and Ugaritic 𐎀𐎍𐎘𐎊 (ảlṯy /⁠ʔalaṯiya⁠/). Nonetheless Mycenaean Greek attests the adjective 𐀓𐀠𐀪𐀍 (ku-pi-ri-jo, “Cypriot”).

To be kept apart from the word for the Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) κυπάρισσος and the word for the plant henna (Lawsonia alba) κύπρος (kúpros) though it also colour in red (as copper does).

More at Wikipedia.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ký.pros/ → /ˈcy.pros/ → /ˈci.pros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ký.pros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈky.pros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈcy.pros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈcy.pros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈci.pros/

Proper noun

Κῠ́προς • (Kúpros) f (genitive Κῠ́πρου); second declension

1. Cyprus (an island in the Mediterranean Sea)

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ Κῠ́προς; τῆς Κῠ́πρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Κῠ́προς hē Kúpros
Genitive	τῆς Κῠ́πρου tês Kúprou
Dative	τῇ Κῠ́πρῳ têi Kúprōi
Accusative	τὴν Κῠ́προν tḕn Kúpron
Vocative	Κῠ́πρε Kúpre
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Κῠ́πρῐος (Kúprios)
• κῠ́πρῐος (kúprios)
• κῠπρῐ́ς (kuprís)
• κῠπρογενής (kuprogenḗs)
• κῠπρογένεια (kuprogéneia)
• κῠπρογένηα (kuprogénēa)
• κῠπρόθε (kupróthe)
• κῠπρόθεν (kupróthen)
• κῠ́προνδε (kúpronde)

Descendants

• → Arabic: قبرص (qubruṣ)
• → Latin: Cyprus

Further reading

• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “Κύπρος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 805, according to whom possibly from a Pre-Greek language
• “Κύπρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Κύπρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “Κύπρος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• “Κύπρος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2954 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[2], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • cyprus idem, page 193.
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[3], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,007
• “Στέφ. Βυζ. Ἐθν. σ.λ. Κύπρος (Κωνστ. Πορφ. Περὶ θεμ. 1.13)”, in Ψηφιακή Αρχαία Κυπριακή Γραμματεία‎^[4], 2017 December 6 (last accessed), archived from the original on 5 October 2017, ancient etymologies about the origin of the island's name by Stephanus of Byzantium in his work Ἐθνικά

Greek

Etymology

Inherited from Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kúpros), already with connections to Sumerian 𒌓𒅗𒁇 (ud-ka-bar /⁠zabar, kabar⁠/, “bronze, copper”) for the island's copper mines at the time (see Latin Cyprius) and an Mycenaean Greek adjective 𐀓𐀠𐀪𐀍 (ku-pi-ri-jo, “Cypriot”). For more, see the etymology of ancient Κύπρος (Kúpros).

Pronunciation

• Standard: IPA^(key): /ˈci.pɾos/
• (Cypriot) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃi.pros/

Proper noun

Κύπρος • (Kýpros) f

1. Cyprus

Declension

  Κύπρος

case     \     number	singular
nominative	Κύπρος •
genitive	Κύπρου •
accusative	Κύπρο •
vocative	Κύπρε •  Κύπρο •

Related terms

• αρκαδοκυπριακός (arkadokypriakós, “Arcadocypriot”)
• ελληνοκυπριακός (ellinokypriakós, adjective)
• Ελληνοκύπριος m (Ellinokýprios, “Greek Cypriot”), Ελληνοκύπρια f (Ellinokýpria) / Ελληνοκυπρία f (Ellinokypría)
• κυπρί n (kyprí)
• κυπρίνος m (kyprínos)
• Κύπριος m (Kýprios, “Cypriot”), Κύπρια f (Kýpria) / Κυπρία f (Kypría, formal)
• κυπριακά n pl (kypriaká, “Cypriot dialect”),
• κυπριακός (kypriakós, “Cypriot”, adjective)
• Κυπριώτης m (Kypriótis, “Cypriot”), Κυπριώτισσα f (Kypriótissa)
• κυπριώτικα n pl (kypriótika, “Cypriot dialect”)
• τουρκοκυπριακός (tourkokypriakós, adjective)
• Τουρκοκύπριος m (Tourkokýprios, “Turkish Cypriot”), Τουρκοκύπρια f (Tourkokýpria) / Τουρκοκυπρία f (Tourkokypría)

In the Cypriot dialect, alsto in Standard Modern Greek:

• Κυπραίος m (Kypraíos, “Cypriot”), Κυπραία f (Kypraía)
• κυπραίικα n pl (kypraíika, “Cypriot dialect”)
• κυπραίος m (kypraíos, “Cypriot”, adjective)

Further reading

• Κύπρος on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el