Ἴων

Pokorny has speculated about a connection to a Proto-Indo-European root *wey-, expressing a shout of joy or distress, as in Ancient Greek ἰά (iá, “clamour, shout; sound, roar”). Ἰᾱ́ϝων (Iā́wōn) could mean “devotee of Apollo”, based on the cry ἰή παιών (iḗ paiṓn) uttered in his worship; the god was also called ἰήϊος (iḗïos) himself.^[1] Douglas Harper speculates that it may share a Proto-Indo-European origin with Sanskrit योनी (yonī, “womb, vagina”), a supposed reference to goddess-worshipping.^[2]

Compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀂𐀊𐀺𐀚 (i-ja-wo-ne, “Ionians”), Egyptian ywnj-ꜥꜣ (“Great Ionia”), both attested in the first half of 14th century BC.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /í.ɔːn/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈi.on/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.on/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.on/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈi.on/

Proper noun

Ἴων • (Íōn) m (genitive Ἴωνος); third declension

Ion, the mythological ancestor of the Ionian people
an Ancient Greek male name

Noun

Ἴων • (Íōn) m (genitive Ἴωνος); third declension

one of the Ionians; a native or inhabitant of Ionia

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ Ἴων; τοῦ Ἴωνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ Ἴων ho Íōn	τὼ Ἴωνε tṑ Íōne	οἱ Ἴωνες hoi Íōnes
Genitive	τοῦ Ἴωνος toû Íōnos	τοῖν Ἰώνοιν toîn Iṓnoin	τῶν Ἰώνων tôn Iṓnōn
Dative	τῷ Ἴωνῐ tôi Íōni	τοῖν Ἰώνοιν toîn Iṓnoin	τοῖς Ἴωσῐ / Ἴωσῐν toîs Íōsi(n)
Accusative	τὸν Ἴωνᾰ tòn Íōna	τὼ Ἴωνε tṑ Íōne	τοὺς Ἴωνᾰς toùs Íōnas
Vocative	Ἴων Íōn	Ἴωνε Íōne	Ἴωνες Íōnes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

Ἰᾰ́ς (Iás)

Derived terms

Ἰωνῐ́ᾱ (Iōníā)
Ἰωνῐκός (Iōnikós)
Ἰωνόπολις (Iōnópolis)

Descendants

Ἰᾱ́ϝων (Iā́wōn)
- → Biblical Hebrew: יָוָן (yāwān)
- → English: Javan

Greek: Ίων (Íon)
→ Latin: Iōn
→ Old Persian: 𐎹𐎢𐎴 (Yauna-, “Ionian; Greek”)
→ Turkish: İyon

References

“Ἴων”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“Ἴων”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
Ἴων in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,014

^ Julius Pokorny, Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, (1959), p. 1176.
^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Ionian”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[1] Julius Pokorny, Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, (1959), p. 1176.

[Etymonline-2] Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Ionian”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

[1]

[2]

Ἴων

Contents

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology