βάραθρον

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• βέθρον (béthron)
• βέρεθρον (bérethron) — Epic, Ionic
• ζέρεθρον (zérethron) — Arcadian, Ancient Macedonian

Etymology

Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour”). Compare Latin vorāgō.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /bá.ra.tʰron/ → /ˈβa.ra.θron/ → /ˈva.ra.θron/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bá.ra.tʰron/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈba.ra.tʰron/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈβa.ra.θron/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra.θron/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra.θron/

Noun

βᾰ́ρᾰθρον • (bárathron) n (genitive βᾰρᾰ́θρου); second declension

1. gulf, cleft, pit (especially one at Athens behind the acropolis into which criminals were thrown)

   Synonym: ὄρῠγμᾰ (órugma)

2. ruin, perdition
3. glutton, spendthrift

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ βᾰ́ρᾰθρον; τοῦ βᾰρᾰ́θρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ βᾰ́ρᾰθρον tò bárathron	τὼ βᾰρᾰ́θρω tṑ baráthrō	τᾰ̀ βᾰ́ρᾰθρᾰ tà bárathra
Genitive	τοῦ βᾰρᾰ́θρου toû baráthrou	τοῖν βᾰρᾰ́θροιν toîn baráthroin	τῶν βᾰρᾰ́θρων tôn baráthrōn
Dative	τῷ βᾰρᾰ́θρῳ tôi baráthrōi	τοῖν βᾰρᾰ́θροιν toîn baráthroin	τοῖς βᾰρᾰ́θροις toîs baráthrois
Accusative	τὸ βᾰ́ρᾰθρον tò bárathron	τὼ βᾰρᾰ́θρω tṑ baráthrō	τᾰ̀ βᾰ́ρᾰθρᾰ tà bárathra
Vocative	βᾰ́ρᾰθρον bárathron	βᾰρᾰ́θρω baráthrō	βᾰ́ρᾰθρᾰ bárathra
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: βάραθρο (várathro)
• Latin: barathrum

Further reading

• “βάραθρον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “βάραθρον”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• βάραθρον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βάραθρον in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • pit idem, page 614.