Μεσσήνη

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Found in Mycenaean Greek inscriptions (Linear B) as 𐀕𐀼𐀙 (me-za-na). Possibly from μέσσος (méssos) — Doric, "in between".

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mes.sɛ̌ː.nɛː/ → /mesˈsi.ni/ → /meˈsi.ni/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mes.sɛ̌ː.nɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /mesˈse̝.ne̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /mesˈsi.ni/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /mesˈsi.ni/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /meˈsi.ni/

Proper noun

Μεσσήνη • (Messḗnē) f (genitive Μεσσήνης); first declension

1. Messene, Messenia, Greece
2. Messina, Sicily, Italy

Inflection

First declension of ἡ Μεσσήνη; τῆς Μεσσήνης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Μεσσήνη hē Messḗnē
Genitive	τῆς Μεσσήνης tês Messḗnēs
Dative	τῇ Μεσσήνῃ têi Messḗnēi
Accusative	τὴν Μεσσήνην tḕn Messḗnēn
Vocative	Μεσσήνη Messḗnē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Μεσσήνιος (Messḗnios)
• Μεσσηνία (Messēnía)
• Μεσσηνίς (Messēnís)

Descendants

• Greek: Μεσσήνη (Messíni)
• Italian: Messina; Messene
• Latin: Messana; Messene
• Polish: Mesyna
• Sicilian: Missina

Further reading

• “Μεσσήνη”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,017