Ἀμαζών

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The Greeks claimed that the word derives from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μαζός (mazós, “breast”), in reference to the belief that Amazons cut off their right breast so that it might not hinder their ability to fire a bow or throw a spear. However, this is almost certainly a folk etymology; in art, Amazons are always shown with two intact breasts. The word is likely of foreign origin, perhaps an Ionian Greek pronunciation of the Old Persian word *hamazan- (“warrior”), as the Amazon women were known warriors. Ionians did not aspirate the first syllable, and the word became Amazon to the Greeks in general. It could also be native Greek, such as from a Proto-Indo-European *n̥-mn̥gʷ-yō (“manless one”), from Proto-Indo-European *mongʷyos (“man”) (compare Proto-Slavic *mǫžь), an explanation deemed unlikely by Hjalmar Frisk. Numerous other etymologies have been proposed, generally tracing the word back to Iranian, Greek or (West/East) Caucasian languages.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.maz.dɔ̌ːn/ → /a.maˈzon/ → /a.maˈzon/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.maz.dɔ̌ːn/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/

Noun

Ἀμαζών • (Amazṓn) f (genitive Ἀμαζόνος); third declension

1. (chiefly in the plural) Amazons, a mythical nation of female warriors from western Scythia.

Inflection

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ Ᾰ̓μαζών hē Ămazṓn	τὼ Ᾰ̓μαζόνε tṑ Ămazóne	αἱ Ᾰ̓μαζόνες hai Ămazónes
Genitive	τῆς Ᾰ̓μαζόνος tês Ămazónos	τοῖν Ᾰ̓μαζόνοιν toîn Ămazónoin	τῶν Ᾰ̓μαζόνων tôn Ămazónōn
Dative	τῇ Ᾰ̓μαζόνῐ têi Ămazónĭ	τοῖν Ᾰ̓μαζόνοιν toîn Ămazónoin	ταῖς Ᾰ̓μαζόσῐ / Ᾰ̓μαζόσῐν taîs Ămazósĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν Ᾰ̓μαζόνᾰ tḕn Ămazónă	τὼ Ᾰ̓μαζόνε tṑ Ămazóne	τᾱ̀ς Ᾰ̓μαζόνᾰς tā̀s Ămazónăs
Vocative	Ᾰ̓μαζών Ămazṓn	Ᾰ̓μαζόνε Ămazóne	Ᾰ̓μαζόνες Ămazónes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of ἡ Ᾰ̓μαζών; τῆς Ᾰ̓μαζόνος (Attic)

References

• “Ἀμαζών”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἀμαζών”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Ἀμαζών in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Ἀμαζών in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “Ἀμαζών”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • amazon idem, page 26.