ἐλεύθερος

See also: ελεύθερος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *eléutʰeros, adjectival formation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow up; people, tribe”); the original meaning of the word was "belonging to the tribe". Cognates include Latin līber, Old Church Slavonic людинъ (ljudinŭ, “free man”), and Old English leōd.^[1]

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /e.lěu̯.tʰe.ros/ → /eˈleɸ.θe.ros/ → /eˈlef.θe.ros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /e.lěu̯.tʰe.ros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /eˈlew.tʰe.ros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /eˈleɸ.θe.ros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈlef.θe.ros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈlef.θe.ros/

Adjective

ἐλεύθερος • (eleútheros) m (feminine ἐλευθέρᾱ, neuter ἐλεύθερον); first/second declension

1. free
2. (substantive) freedom
3. fit for a freeman

Declension

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		ἐλεύθερος eleútheros	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλεύθερον eleútheron		ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō		ἐλεύθεροι eleútheroi	ἐλεύθεραι eleútherai	ἐλεύθερᾰ eleútheră
Genitive		ἐλευθέρου eleuthérou	ἐλευθέρᾱς eleuthérās	ἐλευθέρου eleuthérou		ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin	ἐλευθέραιν eleuthérain	ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin		ἐλευθέρων eleuthérōn	ἐλευθέρων eleuthérōn	ἐλευθέρων eleuthérōn
Dative		ἐλευθέρῳ eleuthérōi	ἐλευθέρᾳ eleuthérāi	ἐλευθέρῳ eleuthérōi		ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin	ἐλευθέραιν eleuthérain	ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin		ἐλευθέροις eleuthérois	ἐλευθέραις eleuthérais	ἐλευθέροις eleuthérois
Accusative		ἐλεύθερον eleútheron	ἐλευθέρᾱν eleuthérān	ἐλεύθερον eleútheron		ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō		ἐλευθέρους eleuthérous	ἐλευθέρᾱς eleuthérās	ἐλεύθερᾰ eleútheră
Vocative		ἐλεύθερε eleúthere	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλεύθερον eleútheron		ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō		ἐλεύθεροι eleútheroi	ἐλεύθεραι eleútherai	ἐλεύθερᾰ eleútheră
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		ἐλευθέρως eleuthérōs				ἐλευθερώτερος eleutherṓteros				ἐλευθερώτᾰτος eleutherṓtătos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First and second declension of ἐλεύθερος; ἐλευθέρᾱ; ἐλεύθερον (Attic)

Derived terms

• Ἐλευθεραί (Eleutheraí)
• ἐλευθερῐ́ᾱ (eleutherĭ́ā)
• ἐλευθερόστομος (eleutheróstomos)
• ἐλευθερόφρων (eleutheróphrōn)
• ἐλευθερόψῡχος (eleutherópsūkhos)
• ἐλευθερόω (eleutheróō)

Descendants

• → English: Eleuthera
• Greek: ελεύθερος (eléftheros)
• Translingual: ⇒ Eleutherozoa, ⇒ Eleutherengona

References

1. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἐλεύθερος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 408

Further reading

• “ἐλεύθερος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἐλεύθερος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἐλεύθερος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἐλεύθερος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• ἐλεύθερος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἐλεύθερος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “ἐλεύθερος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1658 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • broad idem, page 100.
  • candid idem, page 110.
  • exempt idem, page 290.
  • frank idem, page 342.
  • free idem, page 343.
  • free-born idem, page 344.
  • generous idem, page 356.
  • high-minded idem, page 400.
  • independent idem, page 432.
  • liberal idem, page 488.
  • open idem, page 574.
  • outspoken idem, page 583.
  • plain-spoken idem, page 617.
  • unconstrained idem, page 911.
  • unencumbered idem, page 916.
  • unfettered idem, page 918.
  • unmortgaged idem, page 926.
  • unreserved idem, page 929.
  • unrestricted idem, page 930.