ἴαμβος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Probably of Pre-Greek substrate (Illyrian/Phrygian) origin;^[1]^[2]^[3] the OED suggests a derivation from ἰάπτω (iáptō, “to assail, attack verbally”), literally "send forth", cognate with ἵημι (híēmi, “I throw, hurl”), as iambic verse was first used by satirists,^[4] but this could just be folk etymology. Compare also similar words, like διθύραμβος (dithúrambos), θρίαμβος (thríambos) and ἴθυμβος (íthumbos).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /í.am.bos/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈi.am.bos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.am.bos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.am.bos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈi.am.bos/

Noun

ῐ̓́ᾰμβος • (íambos) m (genitive ῐ̓ᾰ́μβου); second declension

iamb, a metrical foot
iambic verse or poem
(mostly in plural) lampoon
kind of extempore play got up by buffoons

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ ῐ̓́ᾰμβος; τοῦ ῐ̓ᾰ́μβου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ῐ̓́ᾰμβος ho íambos	τὼ ῐ̓ᾰ́μβω tṑ iámbō	οἱ ῐ̓́ᾰμβοι hoi íamboi
Genitive	τοῦ ῐ̓ᾰ́μβου toû iámbou	τοῖν ῐ̓ᾰ́μβοιν toîn iámboin	τῶν ῐ̓ᾰ́μβων tôn iámbōn
Dative	τῷ ῐ̓ᾰ́μβῳ tôi iámbōi	τοῖν ῐ̓ᾰ́μβοιν toîn iámboin	τοῖς ῐ̓ᾰ́μβοις toîs iámbois
Accusative	τὸν ῐ̓́ᾰμβον tòn íambon	τὼ ῐ̓ᾰ́μβω tṑ iámbō	τοὺς ῐ̓ᾰ́μβους toùs iámbous
Vocative	ῐ̓́ᾰμβε íambe	ῐ̓ᾰ́μβω iámbō	ῐ̓́ᾰμβοι íamboi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ἰαμβεῖος (iambeîos)
ἰαμβέλεγος (iambélegos)
ἰαμβίζω (iambízō)
ἰαμβικός (iambikós)
ἰαμβίς (iambís)
ἰαμβιστής (iambistḗs)
ἰαμβογράφος (iambográphos)
ἰαμβοειδής (iamboeidḗs)
ἰαμβοποιέω (iambopoiéō)
ἰαμβοποιός (iambopoiós)
ἰαμβύκη (iambúkē)
ἰαμβώδης (iambṓdēs)
χωλίαμβος (khōlíambos)

Descendants

→ Latin: iambus (see there for further descendants)

References

^ Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN
^ “iamb”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
^ Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.