ἀμέθυστος

From ἀ- (a-, “not”) +‎ μέθῠστος (méthŭstos, “drunken”), from μεθῠ́ω (methŭ́ō, “to be drunk on wine”), from μέθῠ (méthŭ, “wine”). Compare to εὐμέθῠστος (euméthŭstos, “easily made drunk”).^[1]

The exact semantic development of the "stone" sense is uncertain. Beekes believes that the stone was named after the light color of diluted wine (that is, "non-drunk wine"),^[1] while others have proposed that the Greeks believed that the amethyst prevented intoxication.

ᾰ̓μέθῠστος • (ăméthŭstos) m or f (neuter ᾰ̓μέθῠστον); second declension

1. (passive sense) not drunken, without drunkenness, sober

   Synonym: νηφάλιος (nēphálios)

2. (active sense) not intoxicating

• ἀμέθῠστον (améthŭston)

ᾰ̓μέθῠστος • (ăméthŭstos) f (genitive ᾰ̓μεθῠ́στου); second declension

1. (substantive) remedy for drunkenness
2. (botany) some sort of herb
3. (geology) amethyst

The senses of an herb or an amethyst represent a narrowing of the earliest meaning, a remedy for drunkenness, because of both the herb's and amethysts' perceived ability to prevent or cure drunkenness.

• (remedy for drunkenness): ἀμέθῠστον (améthŭston)
• (an herb): σέλινον ἄγριον (sélinon ágrion), βατράχιον (batrákhion), σμύρνιον (smúrnion), ἐλεοσέλινον (eleosélinon)
• (amethyst): ἀμέθῠστον (améthŭston)

• ἀμέθῠσον (améthŭson)
• ἀμεθῠ́στῐνος (amethŭ́stĭnos)
• ἀμεθῠστῐ́ζων (amethŭstĭ́zōn)

• Greek: αμέθυστος (améthystos)
• → Latin: amethystus (see there for further descendants)
• → Old Georgian: ამეთჳსტონი (ametwisṭoni), ამეთჳსტოჲ (ametwisṭoy), ამეთჳსოჲ (ametwisoy), ამეთისოჲ (ametisoy)
  • → Georgian: ამეთვისტო (ametvisṭo) (learned)

• “ἀμέθυστος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀμέθυστος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἀμέθυστος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀμέθυστος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• G271 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• “ἀμέθυστος”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011