ἀμαλδύνω

Ancient Greek

Etymology

One assumes that the word is a denominative from an otherwise unknown pre-form *ἀμαλδύς (*amaldús). The first question is whether the word has the same root as βλαδύς (bladús, “flaccid, weak”). The ἀ- must then have been added after the privative formations, but this is not very probable; influence of ἀμαλός (amalós, “soft, weak”) is not very likely either. Connection with μέλδομαι (méldomai, “to smelt”) is not compelling because of the meaning. However, it has a variant ἀμέλδειν (améldein), which shows the same problem of found comparing this verb with βλαδύς (bladús). Other words, like μαλθακός (malthakós, “soft, tender”), μαλακός (malakós, “soft, tender”), ἀμαλός (amalós, “soft, weak”) and ἀμβλύς (amblús, “blunt, dulled”) differ too much to be useful. The etymology, thus, remains uncertain.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.mal.dý.nɔː/ → /a.malˈðy.no/ → /a.malˈði.no/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.mal.dý.nɔː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.malˈdy.no/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.malˈðy.no/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.malˈðy.no/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.malˈði.no/

Verb

ἀμᾰλδῠ́νω • (amaldúnō)

1. to crush, destroy, weaken
2. to soften, mitigate, alleviate
3. to neglect, waste, squander
4. (figuratively) to conceal, disguise

Inflection

   Present: ἀμᾰλδῠ́νω, ἀμᾰλδῠ́νομαι

number		singular			dual		plural
		first	second	third	second	third	first	second	third
active	indicative	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νω	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεις	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νει	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νετον	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νετον	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νομεν	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νετε	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νουσῐ(ν)
	subjunctive	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νω	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νῃς	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νῃ	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νητον	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νητον	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νωμεν	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νητε	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νωσῐ(ν)
	optative	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιμῐ	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοις	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοι	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιτον	ἀμᾰλδῠνοίτην	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιμεν	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιτε	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιεν
	imperative		ἀμᾰ́λδῠνε	ἀμᾰλδῠνέτω	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νετον	ἀμᾰλδῠνέτων		ἀμᾰλδῠ́νετε	ἀμᾰλδῠνόντων
middle/ passive	indicative	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νομαι	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νῃ, ἀμᾰλδῠ́νει	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεται	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεσθον	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεσθον	ἀμᾰλδῠνόμεθᾰ	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεσθε	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νονται
	subjunctive	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νωμαι	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νῃ	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νηται	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νησθον	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νησθον	ἀμᾰλδῠνώμεθᾰ	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νησθε	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νωνται
	optative	ἀμᾰλδῠνοίμην	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιο	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιτο	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοισθον	ἀμᾰλδῠνοίσθην	ἀμᾰλδῠνοίμεθᾰ	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοισθε	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νοιντο
	imperative		ἀμᾰλδῠ́νου	ἀμᾰλδῠνέσθω	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεσθον	ἀμᾰλδῠνέσθων		ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεσθε	ἀμᾰλδῠνέσθων
		active				middle/passive
infinitive		ἀμᾰλδῠ́νειν				ἀμᾰλδῠ́νεσθαι
participle	m	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νων				ἀμᾰλδῠνόμενος
	f	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νουσᾰ				ἀμᾰλδῠνομένη
	n	ἀμᾰλδῠ́νον				ἀμᾰλδῠνόμενον
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For conjugation in dialects other than Attic, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal conjugation.

Further reading

• “ἀμαλδύνω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀμαλδύνω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἀμαλδύνω”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἀμαλδύνω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀμαλδύνω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἀμαλδύνω in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἀμαλδύνω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 80