δῖος

See also: Δῖος and Διός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *diyyos, from Proto-Indo-European *diwyós (“heavenly”), from *dyew- (“sky”) +‎ *-yós. Cognate with Sanskrit दिव्य (divyá), Latin dīus, and related to Ζεύς (Zeús, “Zeus”), Latin deus (“god”), and the first element of English Tuesday. The Indo-Iranian and Greek terms (which are formally identical^[1]) may alternatively be independently formed to to the root *dyew-.^[2]

The feminine nominative and accusative δῖᾰ (dîă) (attested alongside the expected δῑ́ᾱ (dī́ā)), earliest used in substantive function "goddess",^[1] is similar in formation and meaning to Sanskrit देवी (devī́, “goddess, celestial”), though it is likely formed independently to Proto-Indo-European *deywós (“god”),^[3]^[4] and thus not inherited from Proto-Indo-European *déywih₂ (“goddess”).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /dîː.os/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.os/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈði.os/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈði.os/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈði.os/

Adjective

δῖος • (dîos)

(poetic) heavenly, divine, noble (Homeric epithet of persons and gods)
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.5–7:
  Διὸς δ’ ἐτελείετο βουλή,
  ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε
  Ἀτρεΐδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς.
  Diòs d’ eteleíeto boulḗ,
  ex hoû dḕ tà prôta diastḗtēn erísante
  Atreḯdēs te ánax andrôn kaì dîos Akhilleús.
  and the will of Zeus was fulfilled,
  starting when they first stood apart and quarreled:
  [Agamemnon] the son of Atreus, lord of men, and divine Achilles.
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 5.260–261:^[3]
  ἐν δ’ ὑπέρας τε κάλους τε πόδας τ’ ἐνέδησεν ἐν αὐτῇ,
  μοχλοῖσιν δ’ ἄρα τήν γε κατείρυσεν εἰς ἅλα δῖαν.
  en d’ hupéras te kálous te pódas t’ enédēsen en autêi,
  mokhloîsin d’ ára tḗn ge kateírusen eis hála dîan.
  1919 translation by Augustus Taber Murray^[4]
  And he made fast in the raft braces and halyards and sheets,
  and then with levers forced it down into the bright sea.

Usage notes

Homer uses the set phrases ἅλα δῖαν (hála dîan) and ἠῶ δῖαν (ēô dîan) to describe the sea and the dawn. Commentators have suggested the translations "bright" and "boundless."^[5]

Inflection

First and second declension of δῖος; δῖᾰ; δῖον (Epic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	δῖος dîos	δῖᾰ / δῑ́ᾱ dîă / dī́ā	δῖον dîon	δῑ́ω dī́ō	δῑ́ᾱ dī́ā	δῑ́ω dī́ō	δῖοι dîoi	δῖαι dîai	δῖᾰ dîă
Genitive	δῑ́ου / δῑοῖο / δῑ́οιο / δῑόο / δῑ́οο dī́ou / dīoîo / dī́oio / dīóo / dī́oo	δῑ́ᾱς dī́ās	δῑ́ου / δῑοῖο / δῑ́οιο / δῑόο / δῑ́οο dī́ou / dīoîo / dī́oio / dīóo / dī́oo	δῑ́οιῐν dī́oiĭn	δῑ́αιν / δῑ́αιῐν / δῑ́ῃῐν dī́ai(ĭ)n / dī́ēiĭn	δῑ́οιῐν dī́oiĭn	δῑ́ων dī́ōn	δῑᾱ́ων / δῑέ͜ων / δῑῶν dīā́ōn / dīé͜ōn / dīôn	δῑ́ων dī́ōn
Dative	δῑ́ῳ dī́ōi	δῑ́ᾳ dī́āi	δῑ́ῳ dī́ōi	δῑ́οιῐν dī́oiĭn	δῑ́αιν / δῑ́αιῐν / δῑ́ῃῐν dī́ai(ĭ)n / dī́ēiĭn	δῑ́οιῐν dī́oiĭn	δῑ́οισῐ / δῑ́οισῐν / δῑ́οις dī́oisĭ(n) / dī́ois	δῑ́ῃσῐ / δῑ́ῃσῐν / δῑ́ῃς / δῑ́αις dī́ēisĭ(n) / dī́ēis / dī́ais	δῑ́οισῐ / δῑ́οισῐν / δῑ́οις dī́oisĭ(n) / dī́ois
Accusative	δῖον dîon	δῖᾰν dîăn	δῖον dîon	δῑ́ω dī́ō	δῑ́ᾱ dī́ā	δῑ́ω dī́ō	δῑ́ους dī́ous	δῑ́ᾱς dī́ās	δῖᾰ dîă
Vocative	δῖε dîe	δῖᾰ / δῑ́ᾱ dîă / dī́ā	δῖον dîon	δῑ́ω dī́ō	δῑ́ᾱ dī́ā	δῑ́ω dī́ō	δῖοι dîoi	δῖαι dîai	δῖᾰ dîă
Derived forms	Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
Derived forms	δῑ́ως dī́ōs			δῑότερος dīóteros			δῑότᾰτος dīótătos
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “δῖος”, in 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 338
^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) “divyá-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 727
^ Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) “devī́-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[2] (in German), volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 744
^ Meier-Brügger, Michael (2002) Indogermanisches Sprachwissenschaft, 8th edition, Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, W. 202, page 287
^ Anthon, The first six books of Homer's Iliad : with English notes, critical and explanatory, a metrical index, and Homeric glossary, p. 150

“δῖος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“δῖος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“δῖος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
δῖος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
δῖος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
δῖος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
“δῖος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[5], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- celestial idem, page 120.
- divine idem, page 244.
- ethereal idem, page 284.
- heavenly idem, page 393.
- zeus idem, page 997.

[Beekes-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “δῖος”, in 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 338

[2] Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) “divyá-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[1] (in German), volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 727

[3] Mayrhofer, Manfred (1992) “devī́-”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen [Etymological Dictionary of Old Indo-Aryan]‎^[2] (in German), volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag, page 744

[4] Meier-Brügger, Michael (2002) Indogermanisches Sprachwissenschaft, 8th edition, Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, W. 202, page 287

[5] Anthon, The first six books of Homer's Iliad : with English notes, critical and explanatory, a metrical index, and Homeric glossary, p. 150

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