ὅμηρος

See also: Όμηρος, Ὅμηρος, and όμηρος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Probably from ὁμοῦ (homoû, “together”) + the ἀρ- (ar-) found in ἀραρίσκω (ararískō, “to fasten, join”), with a similar sense development in Latin obses (“pledge, security, hostage”). Compare ὁμαρτέω (homartéō), ὅμᾰδος (hómados).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /hó.mɛː.ros/ → /ˈo.mi.ros/ → /ˈo.mi.ros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /hó.mɛː.ros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)o.me̝.ros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.mi.ros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.mi.ros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈo.mi.ros/

Noun

ὅμηρος • (hómēros) m (genitive ὁμήρου); second declension

1. pledge, surety, hostage
   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.108.3:

     Λοκρῶν τῶν Ὀπουντίων ἑκατὸν ἄνδρας ὁμήρους τοὺς πλουσιωτάτους ἔλαβον

     Lokrôn tôn Opountíōn hekatòn ándras homḗrous toùs plousiōtátous élabon

     from the Locrians of Opus [The Athenians] took as hostages a hundred of the richest men

Declension

Second declension of ὁ ὅμηρος; τοῦ ὁμήρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὅμηρος ho hómēros	τὼ ὁμήρω tṑ homḗrō	οἱ ὅμηροι hoi hómēroi
Genitive	τοῦ ὁμήρου toû homḗrou	τοῖν ὁμήροιν toîn homḗroin	τῶν ὁμήρων tôn homḗrōn
Dative	τῷ ὁμήρῳ tôi homḗrōi	τοῖν ὁμήροιν toîn homḗroin	τοῖς ὁμήροις toîs homḗrois
Accusative	τὸν ὅμηρον tòn hómēron	τὼ ὁμήρω tṑ homḗrō	τοὺς ὁμήρους toùs homḗrous
Vocative	ὅμηρε hómēre	ὁμήρω homḗrō	ὅμηροι hómēroi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

• ὁμαρτέω (homartéō)

Further reading

• “ὅμηρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὅμηρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN