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δῆμος . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
δῆμος , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
δῆμος in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
δῆμος you have here. The definition of the word
δῆμος will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
δῆμος , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Ancient Greek
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /dɛ̂ː.mos/ → /ˈði.mos/ → /ˈði.mos/
Etymology 1
Together with Mycenaean Greek 𐀅𐀗 ( da-mo ) , traceable back to Proto-Hellenic *dā́mos , inherited from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂mos ( “ part, division ” ) , from *deh₂- ( “ to share, divide ” ) + *-mos .[ 1] Equivalent to δαίομαι ( daíomai ) + -μος ( -mos ) .
Noun
δῆμος • (dêmos ) m (genitive δήμου ) ; second declension ( Epic , Attic , Ionic , Koine )
district , country , land
800 BCE – 600 BCE ,
Homer ,
Iliad 5.710 :
πὰρ δέ οἱ ἄλλοι ναῖον Βοιωτοὶ μάλα πίονα δῆμον ἔχοντες pàr dé hoi álloi naîon Boiōtoì mála píona dêmon ékhontes and hard by him dwelt other Boeotians having a land exceeding rich
the inhabitants of a district or land
800 BCE – 600 BCE ,
Homer ,
Iliad 3.50 :
πατρί τε σῷ μέγα πῆμα πόληΐ τε παντί τε δήμῳ patrí te sôi méga pêma pólēḯ te pantí te dḗmōi great pain upon your father, your city, and your people
the common people
460 BCE – 420 BCE ,
Herodotus ,
Histories 5.66 :
ἑσσούμενος δὲ ὁ Κλεισθένης τὸν δῆμον προσεταιρίζεται hessoúmenos dè ho Kleisthénēs tòn dêmon prosetairízetai Cleisthenes was getting the worst of it and took the common people into his party.
( rare ) commoner
free citizens, sovereign people
467 BCE ,
Aeschylus ,
Seven Against Thebes 1011 :
δοκοῦντα καὶ δόξαντ’ ἀπαγγέλλειν με χρὴ δήμου προβούλοις τῆσδε Καδμείας πόλεως: dokoûnta kaì dóxant’ apangéllein me khrḕ dḗmou proboúlois têsde Kadmeías póleōs: It is my duty to announce the will and decrees of the council on behalf of the people of this our Cadmean city.
popular government, democracy
460 BCE – 420 BCE ,
Herodotus ,
Histories 3.82 :
πάντων τῷ λόγῳ ἀρίστων ἐόντων, δήμου τε ἀρίστου καὶ ὀλιγαρχίης καὶ μουνάρχου pántōn tôi lógōi arístōn eóntōn, dḗmou te arístou kaì oligarkhíēs kaì mounárkhou all are at their best for the sake of argument, the best democracy and oligarchy and monarchy
popular assembly
380 BCE ,
Plato ,
The Republic 565b :
ἀναγκάζονται δὴ οἶμαι ἀμύνεσθαι, λέγοντές τε ἐν τῷ δήμῳ καὶ πράττοντες ὅπῃ δύνανται anankázontai dḕ oîmai amúnesthai, légontés te en tôi dḗmōi kaì práttontes hópēi dúnantai are compelled to defend themselves by speeches in the assembly and any action in their power
township , commune ; deme
64 BCE – 24 CE ,
Strabo ,
Geography 9.1.16 :
Ἐλευσῖνά τε εἰπὼν ἕνα τῶν ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα δήμων Eleusîná te eipṑn héna tôn hekatòn hebdomḗkonta dḗmōn after speaking of Eleusis, one of the hundred and seventy demes
name for a prostitute
faction in a circus
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium . Particularly: “Rare example of a word that doesn't appear to be covered by Beekes. LSJ appears to consider it equivalent to Etymology 1.[ 2] ”
Noun
δῆμος • (dêmos ) m (genitive δήμου ) ; second declension
yellow serradella , Ornithopus compressus
Declension
Synonyms
References
^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010 ) “δῆμος ”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10 ), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN , page 325 , posits after Pedersen possibly feminine Proto-Indo-European *deh₂mos ( “ people ” ) by comparing Old Welsh dauu ( “ client ” ) , Welsh daw , dawf ( “ son-in-law ” ) , Old Cornish dof ( “ son-in-law ” ) , Old Irish dám ( “ company ” ) , though the Celtic terms are now connected to *dṓm ( “ house, home ” ) (see them for more)
^ “δῆμος ”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago , 2011
Further reading
“δῆμος ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940 ) A Greek–English Lexicon , Oxford: Clarendon Press
“δῆμος ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889 ) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon , New York: Harper & Brothers
δῆμος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
δῆμος 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 . canton idem, page 111.common idem, page 148.commons idem, page 149.county idem, page 178.demus idem, page 210.district idem, page 242.parish idem, page 593.people idem, page 604.plebeian idem, page 620.populace idem, page 626.proletariat idem, page 653.shire idem, page 766.
δῆμος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924 ) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition , Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
G1218 in Strong, James (1979 ) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
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
Bernal, Martin (2006 ) Black Athena . Volume III. The Linguistic Evidence , New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN , page 415 , derived from Egyptian dmj ( “ town, village ” )
Frisk, Hjalmar (1960 ) “δῆμος ”, in Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume I, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, pages 380–381