Μελίτη
Ancient Greek
editEtymology
editApparently from μέλι (méli, “honey”) + -η (-ē, “-a: forming feminine place names”), although its use for the island of Malta is considered uncertain. Some scholars consider it to represent the importance of the islands' indigenous bees and their output. Others consider it a transcription of Phoenician 𐤌𐤋𐤈 (mlṭ, “Grand Harbor, Cospicua”), from 𐤌𐤋𐤈 (mlṭ, “refuge, port”), reapplied first to the island and then, after its Roman conquest, to its capital via Latin Melita. See Wikipedia's articles on Melite and Malta.
Pronunciation
edit- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /me.lí.tɛː/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /meˈli.te̝/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /meˈli.ti/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /meˈli.ti/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /meˈli.ti/
Proper noun
editΜελῐ́τη • (Melítē) f (genitive Μελῐ́της); first declension
- Malta (an island in the Mediterranean Sea, Malta)
- Mdina (a city on the island of Malta, Malta)
- Mljet (an island in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia)
Declension
editCase / # | Singular | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ἡ Μελῐ́τη hē Melítē | ||||||||||||
Genitive | τῆς Μελῐ́της tês Melítēs | ||||||||||||
Dative | τῇ Μελῐ́τῃ têi Melítēi | ||||||||||||
Accusative | τὴν Μελῐ́την tḕn Melítēn | ||||||||||||
Vocative | Μελῐ́τη Melítē | ||||||||||||
Notes: |
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Derived terms
editDescendants
edit- → Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܝܼܠܹܛܵܐ (mīleṭa)
- → French: Mélitè
- → Latin: Melite
- English: Melite
- Latin: Melita, Melitē, Malta
Further reading
edit- Μελίτη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Categories:
- Ancient Greek terms suffixed with -η
- Ancient Greek terms with unknown etymologies
- Ancient Greek terms derived from Phoenician
- Ancient Greek terms derived from Latin
- Ancient Greek 3-syllable words
- Ancient Greek terms with IPA pronunciation
- Ancient Greek lemmas
- Ancient Greek proper nouns
- Ancient Greek paroxytone terms
- Ancient Greek feminine proper nouns
- Ancient Greek first-declension proper nouns
- Ancient Greek feminine proper nouns in the first declension
- Ancient Greek feminine nouns
- grc:Islands
- grc:Places in Malta
- grc:Cities in Malta
- grc:Places in Croatia