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-τερος. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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Ancient Greek
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *-teros.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /te.ros/ → /te.ros/ → /te.ros/
Suffix
-τερος • (-teros) m (feminine -τέρᾱ, neuter -τερον); first/second declension
- Used on adjectives that express some notion of contrast with an antonym
- ἡμεῖς (hēmeîs, “we”) + -τερος (-teros) → ἡμέτερος (hēméteros, “our”)
- Added to adjective stems to form comparative forms
- δῆλος (dêlos, “clear”) + -τερος (-teros) → δηλότερος (dēlóteros, “clearer”)
- σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + -τερος (-teros) → σοφώτερος (sophṓteros, “wiser”)
Declension
Synonyms
Derived terms
References
- Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920) “Part II: Inflection”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 313
Greek
Suffix
-τερος • (-teros)
- The ancient suffix which has formed absolute comparative adjectives; in Modern Greek they are reanalysed.
- See the modern suffixes for regular comparative adjectives: -ότερος (-óteros), -ύτερος (-ýteros), -έστερος (-ésteros)[1]
Usage notes
- Note, that irregular comparative adjectives like κατώτερος (katóteros) were already formed in Ancient Greek; from adverb κάτω (kátō, “down”) + -τερος (-teros)
- The ancient differentiation of -ότερος / -ώτερος became -ότερος (-óteros) in Modern Greek.
- The -τερος (-teros) ending is a useful mnemonic aid to form Modern Greek absolute comparatives by adding it to the neuter nominative singular form of the regular positive adjectives.[2]
See also
- -τερός (-terós)
- -ότατος (-ótatos) (a suffix for superlative adjectives)
References
- ^ 3. Τα επίθετα Chatzisavvidis, Sofronis. Chatzisavvidou Athanasia. Γραμματική της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας. Α΄ Β΄ Γ΄ Γυμνασίου. [Grammar of Modern Greek language. A, B, C Gymnasium n.d. (Official school textbook as in 2024)
§ Τα παραθετικά των επιθέτων … β) Με την προσθήκη του επιθήματος -ό(ύ)τερος, -η, -ο και σπανιότερα του -έστερος, -η, -ο στο θέμα της λέξης- § Ta parathetiká ton epithéton … v) Me tin prosthíki tou epithímatos -ó(ý)teros, -i, -o kai spaniótera tou -ésteros, -i, -o sto théma tis léxis
- § Adjective degrees of comparison. … b) With the addition of suffix -ότερος (-óteros) (-ύτερος, -η, -ο (-ýteros, -i, -o) and more rarely -έστερος, -η, -ο (-ésteros, -i, -o) to the word stem.
- ^ 3.14.1. The Comparative. page 104 David Holton, Peter Mackridge, Irene Philippaki-Warburton, Vassilios Spyropoulos. Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Language. 2nd edition. Routledge, 2012. First edition, 1997.