Διόνυσος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• Διώνυσος (Diṓnusos)

Etymology

Attested in Mycenaean Greek (13th to 12th century B.C.E.) as 𐀇𐀺𐀝𐀰 (di-wo-nu-so). Dialectal variants include Διένυσος (Diénusos), Δεύνυσος (Deúnusos), Δίννυσος (Dínnusos) and others.

By popular etymology often connected with Διός (Diós) (the genitive of Ζεύς (Zeús, “Zeus”)). The dio- forms are probably built by analogy from an original stem die-. The compound die-nus-os is analysed as from a verbal stem die- (from δίεμαι (díemai, “to chase, to impel”)). The nus- element gave rise to a toponym Νύσα (Núsa, “Nusa”), a mountain where the god was nursed by nymphs (the Nysiads, Nysa is also the name given to one of these nymphs). According to the testimony of Pherecydes of Syros (6th c. B.C.E.), nusa is a word for "tree". Janda (Die Musik nach dem Chaos, 2010) suggests an original meaning of "impeller of the (world-)tree" (the axis mundi), connecting the god with archaic cosmology. The close association or indeed identity of Dionysus with a tree (especially the fig tree) is well attested in the classical period.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /di.ó.nyː.sos/ → /ðiˈo.ny.sos/ → /ðiˈo.ni.sos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /di.ó.nyː.sos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /diˈo.ny.sos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ðiˈo.ny.sos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ðiˈo.ny.sos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ðiˈo.ni.sos/

Proper noun

Δῐόνῡσος • (Diónūsos) m (genitive Δῐονῡ́σου); second declension

1. Dionysus

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ Δῐόνῡσος; τοῦ Δῐονῡ́σου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Δῐόνῡσος ho Diónūsos
Genitive	τοῦ Δῐονῡ́σου toû Dionū́sou
Dative	τῷ Δῐονῡ́σῳ tôi Dionū́sōi
Accusative	τὸν Δῐόνῡσον tòn Diónūson
Vocative	Δῐόνῡσε Diónūse
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Διονύσιος (Dionúsios)
• Διονύσιον (Dionúsion)
• Διονύσια (Dionúsia)
• Διονυσιακόν (Dionusiakón)

Descendants

• Greek: Διόνυσος (Diónysos)
• Latin: Dionȳsus

Further reading

• “Διόνυσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Διόνυσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “Διόνυσος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• Διόνυσος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “Διόνυσος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,008