μολοβρός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Numerous doubtful proposals have been advanced. In antiquity, it has been linked to μολεῖν (moleîn), aorist infinitive of βλώσκω (blṓskō, “to go or come”), interpreting the word as "from going, and having recourse to food", which is clearly folk etymology. Neumann derives it from an unattested word *μολος (*molos), related to Sanskrit मल (mala, “dirt, filth”), and the root *gʷerh₃- (“to eat, devour”). Although this is clearly better than earlier proposals, it does not explain the second element -βρος. According to Beekes, it is rather a Pre-Greek word. Furnée compares κολόβριον (kolóbrion, “young of a swine”), suggesting an interchange μ/κ.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mo.lo.brós/ → /mo.loˈβros/ → /mo.loˈvros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mo.lo.brós/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /mo.loˈbros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /mo.loˈβros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /mo.loˈvros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /mo.loˈvros/

Noun

μολοβρός • (molobrós) m (genitive μολοβροῦ); second declension

1. term of abuse or depreciation applied to a beggar, of uncertain meaning

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ μολοβρός; τοῦ μολοβροῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ μολοβρός ho molobrós	τὼ μολοβρώ tṑ molobrṓ	οἱ μολοβροί hoi molobroí
Genitive	τοῦ μολοβροῦ toû molobroû	τοῖν μολοβροῖν toîn molobroîn	τῶν μολοβρῶν tôn molobrôn
Dative	τῷ μολοβρῷ tôi molobrôi	τοῖν μολοβροῖν toîn molobroîn	τοῖς μολοβροῖς toîs molobroîs
Accusative	τὸν μολοβρόν tòn molobrón	τὼ μολοβρώ tṑ molobrṓ	τοὺς μολοβρούς toùs molobroús
Vocative	μολοβρέ molobré	μολοβρώ molobrṓ	μολοβροί molobroí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• μολόβρῐον (molóbrion)
• μολοβρῑ́της (molobrī́tēs)

 

Further reading

• “μολοβρός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μολοβρός”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “μολοβρός”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• μολοβρός in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• μολοβρός in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• 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