ἤλεκτρον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Related to Ancient Greek ἠλέκτωρ (ēléktōr, “shining, brilliant; byname of the sun”), origin unknown. Possibly, but doubtfully, related to Sanskrit उल्का (ulkā́, “meteor”) and Latin Vulcānus (“god of fire and metalworking”), or from the root of Ancient Greek ἥλιος (hḗlios, “sun”); but, given the unconvincing alternatives, likely from Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̌ː.lek.tron/ → /ˈi.lek.tron/ → /ˈi.lek.tron/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɛ̌ː.lek.tron/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈe.lɛk.tron/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.lek.tron/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.lek.tron/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈi.lek.tron/

Noun

ἤλεκτρον • (ḗlektron) n (genitive ἠλέκτρου); second declension

1. amber

   Synonym: λυγγούριον (lungoúrion)

2. alloy of gold and silver, electrum

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ἤλεκτρον; τοῦ ἠλέκτρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἤλεκτρον tò ḗlektron	τὼ ἠλέκτρω tṑ ēléktrō	τᾰ̀ ἤλεκτρᾰ tà ḗlektra
Genitive	τοῦ ἠλέκτρου toû ēléktrou	τοῖν ἠλέκτροιν toîn ēléktroin	τῶν ἠλέκτρων tôn ēléktrōn
Dative	τῷ ἠλέκτρῳ tôi ēléktrōi	τοῖν ἠλέκτροιν toîn ēléktroin	τοῖς ἠλέκτροις toîs ēléktrois
Accusative	τὸ ἤλεκτρον tò ḗlektron	τὼ ἠλέκτρω tṑ ēléktrō	τᾰ̀ ἤλεκτρᾰ tà ḗlektra
Vocative	ἤλεκτρον ḗlektron	ἠλέκτρω ēléktrō	ἤλεκτρᾰ ḗlektra
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἠλέκτρινος (ēléktrinos)
• Ἠλεκτρίς (Ēlektrís)
• ἠλεκτροφαής (ēlektrophaḗs)
• ἠλεκτρώδης (ēlektrṓdēs)

 

Descendants

• → English: electro-
• → French: électro-
• Greek: ήλεκτρο (ílektro)
• → Latin: electrum
• → Russian: электрон (elektron)

Further reading

• ἤλεκτρον in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ἤλεκτρον in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἤλεκτρον in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἤλεκτρον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἤλεκτρον in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • amber idem, page 26.
  • silver-gold idem, page 776.

Further reading

• Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN