μαυρός

See also: μαύρος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀμαυρός (amaurós)

Etymology

Possibly the Moors' native name (from a dialect of Berber), compare Central Atlas Tamazight ⵎⵖⵓⵔ (mɣur, “big”); or from Proto-Indo-European *mergʷ- (“to flicker; to darken; to be dark”), cognate to Proto-Germanic *merkuz (“dark”) and Albanian murg (“dark”).^[1]

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mau̯.rós/ → /maˈβros/ → /maˈvros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mau̯.rós/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /mawˈros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /maˈβros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /maˈvros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /maˈvros/

Adjective

μαυρός • (maurós) m or f (neuter μαυρόν); second declension

1. (pertaining either to light or color) dark, dusky
2. (difficult to discern, barely able to be seen): dim, faint, indistinct, obscure, shadowy
3. (not readily visible or noticeable): inconspicuous, unapparent, unnoticed, unknown
4. (difficult to understand): fathomless, incomprehensible, inscrutable, obscure, uncertain, undefined, vague
5. (tending to produce uncertainty or confusion): baffling, bewildering, perplexing, puzzling
6. (pertaining to vision) blind, sightless; feeble, weak

Inflection

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		μαυρός maurós	μαυρόν maurón		μαυρώ maurṓ	μαυρώ maurṓ		μαυροί mauroí	μαυρᾰ́ maurá
Genitive		μαυροῦ mauroû	μαυροῦ mauroû		μαυροῖν mauroîn	μαυροῖν mauroîn		μαυρῶν maurôn	μαυρῶν maurôn
Dative		μαυρῷ maurôi	μαυρῷ maurôi		μαυροῖν mauroîn	μαυροῖν mauroîn		μαυροῖς mauroîs	μαυροῖς mauroîs
Accusative		μαυρόν maurón	μαυρόν maurón		μαυρώ maurṓ	μαυρώ maurṓ		μαυρούς mauroús	μαυρᾰ́ maurá
Vocative		μαυρέ mauré	μαυρόν maurón		μαυρώ maurṓ	μαυρώ maurṓ		μαυροί mauroí	μαυρᾰ́ maurá
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		μαυρῶς maurôs			μαυρότερος mauróteros			μαυρότᾰτος maurótatos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of μαυρός; μαυρόν (Attic)

Descendants

• Greek: μαύρος (mávros, “black, dark”)

References

1. Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Moor”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Further reading

• “μαυρός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• μαυρός in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette