δῆμος

See also: Δήμος, δημός, and δήμος

Ancient Greek

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /dɛ̂ː.mos/ → /ˈði.mos/ → /ˈði.mos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /dɛ̂ː.mos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈde̝.mos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈði.mos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈði.mos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈði.mos/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Hellenic *dā́mos, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂mos (“people”) (perhaps originally a feminine), from *deh₂- (“to divide”), whence also δαίομαι (daíomai), compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀅𐀗 (da-mo). The original meaning was thus "part".

Alternative forms

• δᾶμος (dâmos) — Doric

Noun

δῆμος • (dêmos) m (genitive δήμου); second declension (Epic, Attic, Ionic, Koine)

1. district, country, land
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.710:

     πὰρ δέ οἱ ἄλλοι ναῖον Βοιωτοὶ μάλα πίονα δῆμον ἔχοντες

     pàr dé hoi álloi naîon Boiōtoì mála píona dêmon ékhontes

     and hard by him dwelt other Boeotians having a land exceeding rich

   1. the inhabitants of a district or land
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.50:

     πατρί τε σῷ μέγα πῆμα πόληΐ τε παντί τε δήμῳ

     patrí te sôi méga pêma pólēḯ te pantí te dḗmōi

     great pain upon your father, your city, and your people

2. the common people
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 5.66:

     ἑσσούμενος δὲ ὁ Κλεισθένης τὸν δῆμον προσεταιρίζεται

     hessoúmenos dè ho Kleisthénēs tòn dêmon prosetairízetai

     Cleisthenes was getting the worst of it and took the common people into his party.

   1. (rare) commoner
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 12.213:

        δῆμον ἐόντα

        dêmon eónta

        being a commoner

3. free citizens, sovereign people
   • 467 BCE, Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes 1011:

     δοκοῦντα καὶ δόξαντ’ ἀπαγγέλλειν με χρὴ δήμου προβούλοις τῆσδε Καδμείας πόλεως:

     dokoûnta kaì dóxant’ apangéllein me khrḕ dḗmou proboúlois têsde Kadmeías póleōs:

     It is my duty to announce the will and decrees of the council on behalf of the people of this our Cadmean city.

   1. popular government, democracy
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.82:

        πάντων τῷ λόγῳ ἀρίστων ἐόντων, δήμου τε ἀρίστου καὶ ὀλιγαρχίης καὶ μουνάρχου

        pántōn tôi lógōi arístōn eóntōn, dḗmou te arístou kaì oligarkhíēs kaì mounárkhou

        all are at their best for the sake of argument, the best democracy and oligarchy and monarchy

   2. popular assembly
      • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 565b:

        ἀναγκάζονται δὴ οἶμαι ἀμύνεσθαι, λέγοντές τε ἐν τῷ δήμῳ καὶ πράττοντες ὅπῃ δύνανται

        anankázontai dḕ oîmai amúnesthai, légontés te en tôi dḗmōi kaì práttontes hópēi dúnantai

        [they] are compelled to defend themselves by speeches in the assembly and any action in their power

4. township, commune; deme
   • 64 BCE – 24 CE, Strabo, Geography 9.1.16:

     Ἐλευσῖνά τε εἰπὼν ἕνα τῶν ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα δήμων

     Eleusîná te eipṑn héna tôn hekatòn hebdomḗkonta dḗmōn

     after speaking of Eleusis, one of the hundred and seventy demes

5. name for a prostitute
   • 680 BCE – 645 BCE, Archilochus, Collected Works 184
6. faction in a circus

Declension

Second declension of ὁ δῆμος; τοῦ δήμου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ δῆμος ho dêmos	τὼ δήμω tṑ dḗmō	οἱ δῆμοι hoi dêmoi
Genitive	τοῦ δήμου toû dḗmou	τοῖν δήμοιν toîn dḗmoin	τῶν δήμων tôn dḗmōn
Dative	τῷ δήμῳ tôi dḗmōi	τοῖν δήμοιν toîn dḗmoin	τοῖς δήμοις toîs dḗmois
Accusative	τὸν δῆμον tòn dêmon	τὼ δήμω tṑ dḗmō	τοὺς δήμους toùs dḗmous
Vocative	δῆμε dême	δήμω dḗmō	δῆμοι dêmoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Αἰνεσῐ́δημος (Ainesídēmos)
• ἀλλόδημος (allódēmos)
• Ἀριστόδημος (Aristódēmos)
• Ἀρχέδημος (Arkhédēmos)
• αὐξῐ́δημος (auxídēmos)
• δήμαρχος (dḗmarkhos)
• δημεραστής (dēmerastḗs)
• δημεύω (dēmeúō)
• δημεχθής (dēmekhthḗs)
• δημήγορος (dēmḗgoros)
• δημηλᾰσῐ́ᾱ (dēmēlasíā)
• δημοβόρος (dēmobóros)
• δημογέρων (dēmogérōn)
• δημοεγερτής (dēmoegertḗs)
• δημοειδής (dēmoeidḗs)
• δημοθεές (dēmotheés)
• δημοθοινέω (dēmothoinéō)
• δημόθροος (dēmóthroos)
• δημοκηδής (dēmokēdḗs)
• Δημοκήδης (Dēmokḗdēs)
• Δημοκλείδης (Dēmokleídēs)
• δημοκλῑ́ναρχος (dēmoklī́narkhos)
• δημόκοινος (dēmókoinos)
• δημοκόλαξ (dēmokólax)
• δημοκοπέω (dēmokopéō)
• δημόκραντος (dēmókrantos)
• Δημοκράτης (Dēmokrátēs)
• Δημόκριτος (Dēmókritos)
• δημοκρᾰτέομαι (dēmokratéomai)
• δημόλευστος (dēmóleustos)
• Δημολέων (Dēmoléōn)
• δημολογέω (dēmologéō)
• δημολᾰ́λητος (dēmolálētos)
• Δημονίκη (Dēmoníkē)
• δημοποίητος (dēmopoíētos)
• δημόπρακτος (dēmópraktos)
• δημοπρᾱ́της (dēmoprā́tēs)
• δημοπῐ́θηκος (dēmopíthēkos)
• δημορρῐφής (dēmorrhiphḗs)
• Δημοσθένης (Dēmosthénēs)
• δημόσσοος (dēmóssoos)
• δημοσσόος (dēmossóos)
• δημοστροφέω (dēmostrophéō)
• δημοσώστης (dēmosṓstēs)
• δημοτελής (dēmotelḗs)
• δημοτερπής (dēmoterpḗs)
• δημοῦχος (dēmoûkhos)
• δημόφαντος (dēmóphantos)
• δημοφθόρος (dēmophthóros)
• Δημοφῶν (Dēmophôn)
• δημοφᾰ́γος (dēmophágos)
• δημοφᾰνής (dēmophanḗs)
• Δημοφᾰ́νης (Dēmophánēs)
• δημοφῐλής (dēmophilḗs)
• δημοχᾰρής (dēmokharḗs)
• δημώδης (dēmṓdēs)
• δημωφελής (dēmōphelḗs)
• δημᾰγωγός (dēmagōgós)
• Δημᾰ́ρᾱτος (Dēmárātos)
• δημᾰ́ρᾱτος (dēmárātos)
• ἔκδημος (ékdēmos)
• ἔνδημος (éndēmos)
• ἐπιδήμιος (epidḗmios)
• ἐπῐ́δημος (epídēmos)
• Εὔδημος (Eúdēmos)
• Εὐθύδημος (Euthúdēmos)
• ἐχεδημῐ́ᾱ (ekhedēmíā)
• Κλείδημος (Kleídēmos)
• κοινόδημος (koinódēmos)
• κρουσῐδημέω (krousidēméō)
• Μενέδημος (Menédēmos)
• μῑσόδημος (mīsódēmos)
• Νῑκόδημος (Nīkódēmos)
• ὁμόδημος (homódēmos)
• πάνδημος (pándēmos)
• πολῠ́δημος (polúdēmos)
• Τῑμόδημος (Tīmódēmos)
• Φῐλόδημος (Philódēmos)
• φῐλόδημος (philódēmos)
• Χαρίδημος (Kharídēmos)
• ᾰ̓́δημος (ádēmos)
• ᾰ̓πόδημος (apódēmos)

 

Related terms

• δημῐ́δῐον (dēmídion)
• δημίζω (dēmízō)
• δήμῐος (dḗmios)
• δημόθεν (dēmóthen)
• δημόομαι (dēmóomai)
• δημόσῐος (dēmósios)
• δημότερος (dēmóteros)
• δημοτεύομαι (dēmoteúomai)
• δημότης (dēmótēs)
• δημοικός (dēmoikós)
• δημώλης (dēmṓlēs)
• δήμωμᾰ (dḗmōma)

Descendants

• English: deme
• Greek: δήμος (dímos)
• Latin: dēmos

References

• “δῆμος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “δῆμος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• δῆμος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• δῆμος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • canton idem, page 111.
  • common idem, page 148.
  • commons idem, page 149.
  • county idem, page 178.
  • demus idem, page 210.
  • district idem, page 242.
  • parish idem, page 593.
  • people idem, page 604.
  • plebeian idem, page 620.
  • populace idem, page 626.
  • proletariat idem, page 653.
  • shire idem, page 766.
• δῆμος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G1218 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• 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
• 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, page 325

Etymology 2

Noun

δῆμος • (dêmos) m (genitive δήμου); second declension

1. yellow serradella, Ornithopus compressus

Declension

Second declension of ὁ δῆμος; τοῦ δήμου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ δῆμος ho dêmos	τὼ δήμω tṑ dḗmō	οἱ δῆμοι hoi dêmoi
Genitive	τοῦ δήμου toû dḗmou	τοῖν δήμοιν toîn dḗmoin	τῶν δήμων tôn dḗmōn
Dative	τῷ δήμῳ tôi dḗmōi	τοῖν δήμοιν toîn dḗmoin	τοῖς δήμοις toîs dḗmois
Accusative	τὸν δῆμον tòn dêmon	τὼ δήμω tṑ dḗmō	τοὺς δήμους toùs dḗmous
Vocative	δῆμε dême	δήμω dḗmō	δῆμοι dêmoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

• κᾰτᾰνάγκη (katanánkē)