ἀθλητής

See also: αθλητής

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀθλητήρ (athlētḗr) — Epic

Etymology

From ᾱ̓θλέω (āthléō, “to contend”) +‎ -τής (-tḗs, masculine agentive suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /aː.tʰlɛː.tɛ̌ːs/ → /a.θliˈtis/ → /a.θliˈtis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /aː.tʰlɛː.tɛ̌ːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.tʰle̝ˈte̝s/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.θliˈtis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.θliˈtis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.θliˈtis/

Noun

ἀθλητής • (athlētḗs) m (genitive ᾱ̓θλητοῦ); first declension

1. a combatant, champion, especially a prizefighter
   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Nemean Ode 5.90
   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Nemean Ode 10.95
   1. (as an adjective) pertaining to competition
      • 445 BCE – 380 BCE, Lysias, Collected Works 157.39
      • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Parmenides 137A
2. (with genitive) practiced in, master of
   • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 543B
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes, Against Aristogiton 1 97
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 6.7.3:

     ἐκκεκριμένους δὲ ἐκ παίδων ἀθλητὰς εἶναι αὐτοὺς τῶν ἔργων:

     ekkekriménous dè ek paídōn athlētàs eînai autoùs tôn érgōn:

Inflection

First declension of ὁ ᾱ̓θλητής; τοῦ ᾱ̓θλητοῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ᾱ̓θλητής ho āthlētḗs	τὼ ᾱ̓θλητᾱ́ tṑ āthlētā́	οἱ ᾱ̓θληταί hoi āthlētaí
Genitive	τοῦ ᾱ̓θλητοῦ toû āthlētoû	τοῖν ᾱ̓θληταῖν toîn āthlētaîn	τῶν ᾱ̓θλητῶν tôn āthlētôn
Dative	τῷ ᾱ̓θλητῇ tôi āthlētêi	τοῖν ᾱ̓θληταῖν toîn āthlētaîn	τοῖς ᾱ̓θληταῖς toîs āthlētaîs
Accusative	τὸν ᾱ̓θλητήν tòn āthlētḗn	τὼ ᾱ̓θλητᾱ́ tṑ āthlētā́	τοὺς ᾱ̓θλητᾱ́ς toùs āthlētā́s
Vocative	ᾱ̓θλητᾰ́ āthlētá	ᾱ̓θλητᾱ́ āthlētā́	ᾱ̓θληταί āthlētaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἀθλητικός (athlētikós)

Descendants

• Greek: αθλητής (athlitís)
• Latin: āthlēta
  • English: athlete
• Russian: атлет (atlet)

Further reading

• “ἀθλητής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀθλητής”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἀθλητής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀθλητής 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.
  • athlete idem, page 49.
  • gymnast idem, page 380.
  • sportsman idem, page 804.