Γόριλλαι

Γόριλλαι

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Likely Punic, though possibly ultimately from an African word (used to describe hairy people) that entered Greek via Punic.[1]

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɡó.ril.lai̯/ → /ˈɣo.ril.lɛ/ → /ˈɣo.ri.le/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɡó.ril.lai̯/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡo.ril.lɛ/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɣo.ril.lɛ/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈɣo.ril.le/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈɣo.ri.le/

Proper noun

Γόριλλαι • (Górillai) f pl (genitive Γοριλλῶν); first declension

1. Gorillai (a tribe of hairy women described by Hanno the Navigator)
   • 5th century BC, Ἅννων ὁ Καρχηδόνιος, Ἅννωνος Περίπλους

     πολὺ δὲ πλείους ἦσαν γυναῖκες, δασεῖαι τοῖς σώμασιν, ἃς οἱ ἑρμηνέες ἐκάλουν Γορίλλας.

Inflection

First declension of αἱ Γόρῐλλαι; τῶν Γορῐλλῶν (Attic)

Case / #	Plural
Nominative	αἱ Γόρῐλλαι hai Górillai
Genitive	τῶν Γορῐλλῶν tôn Gorillôn
Dative	ταῖς Γορῐ́λλαις taîs Goríllais
Accusative	τᾱ̀ς Γορῐ́λλᾱς tā̀s Goríllās
Vocative	Γόρῐλλαι Górillai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• English: gorilla
• English: Gorillai

References

1. The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Clarendon Press, 1989.

Further reading

• “Γόριλλαι”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Γόριλλαι in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2023)