Εὐρώπη

Εὐρώπη

See also: Ευρώπη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• Εὐρώπᾱ (Eurṓpā) – Doric
• Εὐρωπίᾱ (Eurōpíā) – poetic

Etymology

Uncertain, but either from:

• εὐρύς (eurús) + ὤψ (ṓps), literally meaning "wide face" (as a description of the beauty of the mythical Europa) or "broad eye" (metaphorically meaning something like "as far as the eye can see")
• Semitic origin; compare also Ἀσία (Asía):
  • Akkadian 𒀭𒌓𒋙𒀀 (^dUD.ŠU₂.A /erebu, erbu/, “direction of the setting sun, occident, west”)
  • Phoenician 𐤏𐤓𐤁‎ (ʿrb /ʿereb/, “evening”)
  • Aramaic ערובה‎ (ʿrōbā, “sunset, Sabbath eve”)
  • Hebrew מַעֲרָב‎ (maʿărɔḇ, “occident, west”)
  • Classical Syriac ܡܥܪܒܐ‎ (maʿrəḇā, “occident, west”)
  • Arabic غَرْب‎ (ḡarb, “occident, west”) and غُرُوب‎ (ḡurūb, “setting of the sun”)
• From a separate Semitic root related to guarantees and exchanges, found in Arabic عَرَبُون‎ (ʿarabūn), Hebrew בֶּן‑עֲרֻבָּה‎ (ben‑ʿăruḇoh, “hostages”), Classical Syriac ܥܪܘܒܐ‎ (ʿaruḇa, “hostages”), stemming from mythology in which Europa is famously abducted; see the story of Cadmus, a figure also with Semitic associations, who seeks after his kidnapped sister.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /eu̯.rɔ̌ː.pɛː/ → /eˈβro.pi/ → /eˈvro.pi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /eu̯.rɔ̌ː.pɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ewˈro.pe̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /eˈβro.pi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈvro.pi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈvro.pi/

Proper noun

Εὐρώπη • (Eurṓpē) f (genitive Εὐρώπης); first declension

1. (Greek mythology) Europa, a Phoenician princess abducted to Crete by Zeus
2. Europe, a continent

Inflection

First declension of ἡ Εὐρώπη; τῆς Εὐρώπης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Εὐρώπη hē Eurṓpē
Genitive	τῆς Εὐρώπης tês Eurṓpēs
Dative	τῇ Εὐρώπῃ têi Eurṓpēi
Accusative	τὴν Εὐρώπην tḕn Eurṓpēn
Vocative	Εὐρώπη Eurṓpē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

The personal name rarely takes a definite article.

Descendants

• Greek: Ευρώπη (Evrópi)
  • → Albanian: Evropa, Evropë
  • → Aromanian: Evropa
• → Latin: Europa (see there for further descendants)
• → Old Armenian: Եւրոպա (Ewropa), Եւրոպիա (Ewropia)

References

• “Εὐρώπη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Εὐρώπη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,010