ἴκτερος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The formation is reminiscent of ὕδερος (húderos) and χολέρα (kholéra), but further details are unknown. The connection with ἴκτις (íktis, “marten”) and ἴκτινος (íktinos, “kite”) is defended by Grošelj Živa, who assumes a colour root ἰκ- (ik-, “yellow, green”), and compares ἰκμαλέον (ikmaléon, “green, moist”). This remains speculative. According to Furnée, the group -κτ- points to Pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ík.te.ros/ → /ˈik.te.ros/ → /ˈik.te.ros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ík.te.ros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈik.te.ros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈik.te.ros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈik.te.ros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈik.te.ros/

Noun

ἴκτερος • (íkteros) m (genitive ἰκτέρου); second declension

1. (pathology) jaundice, icterus
2. golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus)

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ ἴκτερος; τοῦ ἰκτέρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ἴκτερος ho íkteros	τὼ ἰκτέρω tṑ iktérō	οἱ ἴκτεροι hoi íkteroi
Genitive	τοῦ ἰκτέρου toû iktérou	τοῖν ἰκτέροιν toîn iktéroin	τῶν ἰκτέρων tôn iktérōn
Dative	τῷ ἰκτέρῳ tôi iktérōi	τοῖν ἰκτέροιν toîn iktéroin	τοῖς ἰκτέροις toîs iktérois
Accusative	τὸν ἴκτερον tòn íkteron	τὼ ἰκτέρω tṑ iktérō	τοὺς ἰκτέρους toùs iktérous
Vocative	ἴκτερε íktere	ἰκτέρω iktérō	ἴκτεροι íkteroi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἰκτερίας (ikterías)
• ἰκτεριάω (ikteriáō)
• ἰκτερικός (ikterikós)
• ἴκτερις (íkteris)
• ἰκτερίτης (ikterítēs)
• ἰκτερόεις (ikteróeis)
• ἰκτερόομαι (ikteróomai)
• ἰκτερώδης (ikterṓdēs)

 

Descendants

• → Latin: icterus
• → Translingual: Icterus

Further reading

• “ἴκτερος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ἴκτερος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• 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