γαστήρ

Traditionally derived from a dissimilation of an unattested earlier *γρᾰστήρ (*grastḗr, “devourer”), from γρᾰ́ω (gráō, “to gnaw, eat”) +‎ -τήρ (-tḗr, agent noun suffix). If so, Sanskrit ग्रस्तर् (grastar, “(astronomy) eclipser (originally "devourer")”) would be an exact cognate; for a semantic parallel to the Sanskrit term, compare Chinese 蝕／蚀 (shí, “to corrode, eclipse”), which is derived from 食 (shí, “to eat”).

However, Beekes is skeptical of the semantics (it is somewhat of a stretch to consider the belly as an "eater"), and tentatively prefers a derivation from *gnt-tēr, with *-tt- > -st-, comparing γέντα (génta, “intestines”) (which itself is of unclear origin).^[1]

γᾰστήρ • (gastḗr) f (genitive γᾰστέρος or γᾰστρός); third declension

1. paunch, belly, hollow, wide part
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 13.372:

      · οὐδ᾽ ἤρκεσε θώρηξ χάλκεος, ὃν φορέεσκε, μέσῃ δ᾽ ἐν γαστέρι πῆξε.

   1. belly (for craving food); gluttony
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 6.133:

         · κέλεται δέ ἑ γαστὴρ μήλων πειρήσοντα καὶ ἐς πυκινὸν δόμον ἐλθεῖν·

         […]; kéletai dé he gastḕr mḗlōn peirḗsonta kaì es pukinòn dómon eltheîn; […]

      • 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Theogony 26:

         · ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι, κάκ᾽ ἐλέγχεα, γαστέρες οἶον, ἴδμεν ψεύδεα πολλὰ λέγειν ἐτύμοισιν ὁμοῖα,

   2. sausage, haggis
      • 423 BCE, Aristophanes, The Clouds 409:

        ὀπτῶν γαστέρα τοῖς συγγένεσιν κᾆτ᾿ οὐκ ἔσχων ἀμελήσας,

2. (anatomy) womb
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.58:

     τῶν μή τις ὑπεκφύγοι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον χεῖράς θ’ ἡμετέρας, μηδ’ ὅν τινα γαστέρι μήτηρ κοῦρον ἐόντα φέροι, μηδ’ ὃς φύγοι,

     tôn mḗ tis hupekphúgoi aipùn ólethron kheîrás th’ hēmetéras, mēd’ hón tina gastéri mḗtēr koûron eónta phéroi, mēd’ hòs phúgoi, […]

   • 6th century BC, Theognis of Megara, Elegies 305:

     Τοὶ κακοὶ οὐ πάντες κακοὶ ἐκ γαστρὸς γεγόνασιν,

     Toì kakoì ou pántes kakoì ek gastròs gegónasin, […]

The root of γᾰστήρ (gastḗr) contains an ε (e) between τ (t) and ρ (r) which is often syncopated, leading to alternative forms such as genitive singular γᾰστέρος (gastéros) and γᾰστρός (gastrós), dative singular γᾰστέρῐ (gastéri) and γᾰστρῐ́ (gastrí), dative plural γᾰστῆρσῐ (gastêrsi) and γᾰστρᾰ́σῐ (gastrási). The syncopated form is generally more common in forms with long suffixes, such as the aforementioned. The inflection table below lists the more common forms.

• “γαστήρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “γαστήρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “γαστήρ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• γαστήρ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• 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
• γαστήρ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• γαστήρ in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “γαστήρ”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1064 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.
  • appetite idem, page 35.
  • belly idem, page 72.
  • maw idem, page 518.
  • paunch idem, page 599.
  • stomach idem, page 819.
  • womb idem, page 987.