δένδρον

Ancient Greek

Κρητικὰ δένδρα τινά

Alternative forms

δένδρεον (déndreon) — Epic, Ionic, Doric
δένδρος (déndros) — Koine

Etymology

Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *der-drew-om with dissimilation, reduplicated from *dóru (“tree”), but this type of reduplication is highly atypical, so the formation must be regarded as uncertain. Per Janda, alternatively from a compound *dem- (“to build; house”) + *drew-, thus perhaps meaning “tree (planted near a) house”, but the semantic basis for such an assumption is weak.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /dén.dron/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈden.dron/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈðen.dron/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈðen.dron/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈðen.dron/

Noun

δένδρον • (déndron) n (genitive δένδρου); second declension

tree

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ δένδρον; τοῦ δένδρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ δένδρον tò déndron	τὼ δένδρω tṑ déndrō	τᾰ̀ δένδρᾰ tằ déndră
Genitive	τοῦ δένδρου toû déndrou	τοῖν δένδροιν toîn déndroin	τῶν δένδρων tôn déndrōn
Dative	τῷ δένδρῳ tôi déndrōi	τοῖν δένδροιν toîn déndroin	τοῖς δένδροις toîs déndrois
Accusative	τὸ δένδρον tò déndron	τὼ δένδρω tṑ déndrō	τᾰ̀ δένδρᾰ tằ déndră
Vocative	δένδρον déndron	δένδρω déndrō	δένδρᾰ déndră
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Notes

**Dative plural**: In Attic prose, both **δένδροις** and **δένδρεσι(ν)** are attested. The latter, more common in later texts, may reflect Ionic influence (e.g., Plato, *Laws* 1.625).
**Genitive plural**: The standard Attic form is **δένδρων** (e.g., Lysias, *Orations* 7.28). The form **δενδρέων** is typical of Epic/Ionic Greek (e.g., Herodotus, 1.202) and rarely appears in Attic texts except under Ionic influence or in poetic contexts.

Derived terms

βᾰθῠ́δενδρος (băthŭ́dendros)
δένδρῐνος (déndrĭnos)

Descendants

→ English: dendr-
Greek: δέντρο (déntro)
Mariupol Greek: дъендро (ðjendro)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “δένδρεον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 315–316

“δένδρον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“δένδρον”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
δένδρον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
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
δένδρον in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
G1186 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- timber idem, page 875.
- tree idem, page 893.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “δένδρεον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 315–316

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