Λητώ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Λᾱ́των (Lā́tōn) – Aeolic
Λᾱτώ (Lātṓ), Λητόᾱ (Lētóā) – Doric

Etymology

In 20th-century sources Leto is traditionally derived from Lycian lada, "wife", as her earliest cult was centered in Lycia. Lycian lada may also be the origin of the Greek name Λήδα (Lḗda, “Leda”). Other scholars (Paul Kretschmer, Erich Bethe, Pierre Chantraine and R. S. P. Beekes) have suggested a Pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /lɛː.tɔ̌ː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /le̝ˈto/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /liˈto/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /liˈto/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /liˈto/

Proper noun

Λητώ • (Lētṓ) f (genitive Λητοῦς); third declension

Leto

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ Λητώ; τῆς Λητοῦς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Λητώ hē Lētṓ
Genitive	τῆς Λητοῦς tês Lētoûs
Dative	τῇ Λητοῖ têi Lētoî
Accusative	τὴν Λητώ tḕn Lētṓ
Vocative	Λητοῖ Lētoî
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Λητῷος (Lētôios)

Descendants

English: Leto
Greek: Λητώ (Litó)
Latin: Latona (via Λατώ (Latṓ))

References

“Λητώ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“Λητώ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“Λητώ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
Λητώ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,015

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Λητώ (Lētṓ).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /liˈto/
Hyphenation: Λη‧τώ

Proper noun

Λητώ • (Litó) f

(Greek mythology) Leto (Titan goddess, mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus)

Declension

Λητώ

case \\ number	singular
nominative	Λητώ •
genitive	Λητώς •
accusative	Λητώ •
vocative	Λητώ •
Less common genitive: Λητούς