Μελίτη

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Apparently from μέλι (méli, “honey”) +‎ -η (-ē, “-a: forming feminine place names”), although its use for the island of Malta is considered uncertain. Some scholars consider it to represent the importance of the islands' indigenous bees and their output. Others consider it a transcription of Phoenician 𐤌𐤋𐤈 (mlṭ, “Grand Harbor, Cospicua”), from 𐤌𐤋𐤈 (mlṭ, “refuge, port”), reapplied first to the island and then, after its Roman conquest, to its capital via Latin Melita. See Wikipedia's articles on Melite and Malta.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /me.lí.tɛː/ → /meˈli.ti/ → /meˈli.ti/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /me.lí.tɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /meˈli.te̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /meˈli.ti/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /meˈli.ti/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /meˈli.ti/

Proper noun

Μελῐ́τη • (Melĭ́tē) f (genitive Μελῐ́της); first declension

1. Malta (an island in the Mediterranean Sea, Malta)
2. Mdina (a city on the island of Malta, Malta)
3. Mljet (an island in the Adriatic Sea, Croatia)

Declension

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Μελῐ́τη hē Melĭ́tē
Genitive	τῆς Μελῐ́της tês Melĭ́tēs
Dative	τῇ Μελῐ́τῃ têi Melĭ́tēi
Accusative	τὴν Μελῐ́την tḕn Melĭ́tēn
Vocative	Μελῐ́τη Melĭ́tē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First declension of ἡ Μελῐ́τη; τῆς Μελῐ́της (Attic)

Derived terms

• Μελῐταῖον n (Melĭtaîon, noun)
• Μελῐτεύς (Melĭteús, adjective)
• Μελῐτήϊος (Melĭtḗïos, adjective)

 

Descendants

• → Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܝܼܠܹܛܵܐ (mīleṭa)
• → French: Mélitè
• → Latin: Melite
  • English: Melite
• Latin: Melita, Melitē, Malta
  • → Arabic: مَالِطَا (māliṭā)
    • Maltese: Malta (see there for further descendants)
    • → Ottoman Turkish: مالطه (malta)
      • Turkish: Malta
    • → South Levantine Arabic: مالطا (mālṭa)
  • English: Melita
  • → Proto-Slavic: *Mьlětъ
    • Serbo-Croatian: Mljet
      • → English: Mljet
      • → Greek: Μλιετ (Mliet)
  • Venetan: Meleda
    • → Italian: Meleda
      • → English: Meleda (obsolete)

Further reading

• Μελίτη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette