βλάσφημος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *mləspʰāmos, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥-s-bʰeh₂-mo-s, from *(s)mel- (“to deceive”) + φημί (phēmí, “I say”) +‎ -ος (-os, adjective-forming suffix). Beekes is implicitly skeptical of the connection of the first syllable to *(s)mel-, however, and leaves the first syllable's origin open.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /blás.pʰɛː.mos/ → /ˈβlas.ɸi.mos/ → /ˈvlas.fi.mos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /blás.pʰɛː.mos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈblas.pʰe̝.mos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈβlas.ɸi.mos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈvlas.fi.mos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈvlas.fi.mos/

Adjective

βλᾰ́σφημος • (blásphēmos) m or f (neuter βλᾰ́σφημον); second declension

1. uttering ill-omened words; jinx
2. reviling, defaming
3. (of words) slanderous, libellous
4. uttering impious words; blasphemous

Inflection

Second declension of βλᾰ́σφημος; βλᾰ́σφημον (Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		βλᾰ́σφημος blásphēmos	βλᾰ́σφημον blásphēmon		βλᾰσφήμω blasphḗmō	βλᾰσφήμω blasphḗmō		βλᾰ́σφημοι blásphēmoi	βλᾰ́σφημᾰ blásphēma
Genitive		βλᾰσφήμου blasphḗmou	βλᾰσφήμου blasphḗmou		βλᾰσφήμοιν blasphḗmoin	βλᾰσφήμοιν blasphḗmoin		βλᾰσφήμων blasphḗmōn	βλᾰσφήμων blasphḗmōn
Dative		βλᾰσφήμῳ blasphḗmōi	βλᾰσφήμῳ blasphḗmōi		βλᾰσφήμοιν blasphḗmoin	βλᾰσφήμοιν blasphḗmoin		βλᾰσφήμοις blasphḗmois	βλᾰσφήμοις blasphḗmois
Accusative		βλᾰ́σφημον blásphēmon	βλᾰ́σφημον blásphēmon		βλᾰσφήμω blasphḗmō	βλᾰσφήμω blasphḗmō		βλᾰσφήμους blasphḗmous	βλᾰ́σφημᾰ blásphēma
Vocative		βλᾰ́σφημε blásphēme	βλᾰ́σφημον blásphēmon		βλᾰσφήμω blasphḗmō	βλᾰσφήμω blasphḗmō		βλᾰ́σφημοι blásphēmoi	βλᾰ́σφημᾰ blásphēma
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		βλᾰσφήμως blasphḗmōs			βλᾰσφημότερος blasphēmóteros			βλᾰσφημότᾰτος blasphēmótatos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• βλᾰσφημέω (blasphēméō)
• βλᾰσφημῐ́ᾱ (blasphēmíā)
• βλᾰσφημόγλωσσος (blasphēmóglōssos)

 

Descendants

• → Latin: blasphēmus (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• “βλάσφημος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “βλάσφημος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• βλάσφημος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βλάσφημος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)