Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
ἀρά. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
ἀρά, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
ἀρά in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
ἀρά you have here. The definition of the word
ἀρά will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
ἀρά, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Ancient Greek
Etymology
Arcadocypriot Greek καταρϝος (katarwos, “cursed”) suggests a preform Proto-Hellenic *arwā, which makes Attic -ᾱ hard to explain; -η would be expected after *w. Not cognate with Latin āra (“altar”). Possibly related to Hittite (/aruwae-/, “to bow”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.rǎː/ → /aˈra/ → /aˈra/
Noun
ἀ̆ρά̄ • (ará̄) f (genitive ἀ̆ρᾶς); first declension
- prayer, invocation
800 BCE – 600 BCE,
Homer,
Iliad 15.378:
- Ὣς ἔφατ’ εὐχόμενος, μέγα δ’ ἔκτυπε μητίετα Ζεύς, ἀράων ἀΐων Νηληϊάδαο γέροντος.
- Hṑs éphat’ eukhómenos, méga d’ éktupe mētíeta Zeús, aráōn aḯōn Nēlēïádao gérontos.
- 1925 translation by A. T. Murray
- So spake he in prayer, and Zeus the counsellor thundered aloud, hearing the prayer of the aged son of Neleus
- imprecation, curse, malediction
Declension
Further reading
- ἀρά in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- ἀρά in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
- “ἀρά”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “ἀρά”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
- G685 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.