Κύπρος

See also: κύπρος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Taking into account that copper by alchemists and astrologers, since time immemorial, is connected through one symbol ♀ to the planet Venus, and she is reputed as a Cyprian goddess, Cypria, Cypris, only after she has been introduced by Phoenicians from Asqalon, where her first temple was erected according to Herodotus I, 105, also worshipping her as Δερκετώ (Derketṓ), identical to Ugaritic 𐎄𐎗𐎋𐎚 (drkt, “rule, power”), correlating with Ναζαία (Nazaía) at various places which is the pre-Islamic Meccan Arabic الْعُزَّى‎ (al-ʕuzzā, literally “the most powerful”), in view of her other name Arabic الْكُبْرَى‎ (al-kubrā, literally “the great”) it derives as exactly such a feminine form in Northwest Semitic from the root כ־ב־ר‎ / ك ب ر‎ (k-b-r). The association of the island with the goddess resounds mythologically in Kinyras being the founder of Paphos and its Aphrodite fane.

Chronologically, ancient Cyprus had not borne the present name in view of its political division into kingdoms which usually served for more specific names; the name for the whole island is just barely known in Phoenician as 𐤀𐤋𐤔𐤉‎ (ʾlšy /⁠ʾalašiya⁠/) and Ugaritic 𐎀𐎍𐎘𐎊 (ảlṯy /⁠ʔalaṯiya⁠/). The island taking its relevance from being the major source of copper during the Near East’s Bronze Age, only from the name of a local cult then the name of the island and of the metal in no discernible order spread, notably Sumerian 𒌓𒅗𒁇 (ud-ka-bar /⁠zabar, kabar⁠/, “bronze, copper”), Eblaite 𒂵𒁀𒈝 (ga-ba-lum /⁠kabalum⁠/, “copper”), Hurrian [script needed] (kabali, kābli, “copper”).

To be kept apart from the word for the Mediterranean cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) κυπάρισσος and the word for the plant henna (Lawsonia alba) κύπρος (kúpros) though it also colour in red.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ký.pros/ → /ˈcy.pros/ → /ˈci.pros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ký.pros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈky.pros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈcy.pros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈcy.pros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈci.pros/

Proper noun

Κῠ́προς • (Kúpros) f (genitive Κῠ́πρου); second declension

1. Cyprus (an island in the Mediterranean Sea)

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ Κῠ́προς; τῆς Κῠ́πρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Κῠ́προς hē Kúpros
Genitive	τῆς Κῠ́πρου tês Kúprou
Dative	τῇ Κῠ́πρῳ têi Kúprōi
Accusative	τὴν Κῠ́προν tḕn Kúpron
Vocative	Κῠ́πρε Kúpre
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Κῠ́πρῐος (Kúprios)
• κῠ́πρῐος (kúprios)
• κῠπρῐ́ς (kuprís)
• κῠπρογενής (kuprogenḗs)
• κῠπρογένεια (kuprogéneia)
• κῠπρογένηα (kuprogénēa)
• κῠπρόθε (kupróthe)
• κῠπρόθεν (kupróthen)
• κῠ́προνδε (kúpronde)

Descendants

• → Latin: Cyprus

Further reading

• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “Κύπρος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 805, according to whom possibly from a Pre-Greek language
• “Κύπρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Κύπρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “Κύπρος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• “Κύπρος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2954 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • cyprus idem, page 193.
• 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
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[2], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,007
• Rotter, Gernot (1993), “Der dies veneris im vorislamischen Mekka, eine neue Deutung des Namens „Europa“ und eine Erklärung für kobar = Venus”, in Der Islam‎^[3] (in German), volume 70, issue 1, →DOI, pages 122–139
• “Στέφ. Βυζ. Ἐθν. σ.λ. Κύπρος (Κωνστ. Πορφ. Περὶ θεμ. 1.13)”, in Ψηφιακή Αρχαία Κυπριακή Γραμματεία‎^[4], accessed 6 December 2017, archived from the original on 2017-10-05, ancient etymologies about the origin of the island's name by Stephanus of Byzantium in his work Ἐθνικά

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kúpros).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈci.pɾos/
• (Cypriot) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃi.pros/

Proper noun

Κύπρος • (Kýpros) f

1. Cyprus (an island and countryin the Mediterranean Sea, normally considered politically part of Southeast Europe but geographically part of Western Asia)

Declension

  Κύπρος

case     \     number	singular
nominative	Κύπρος •
genitive	Κύπρου •
accusative	Κύπρο •
vocative	Κύπρε •  Κύπρο •

Related terms

• Κύπριος m (Kýprios, “Cypriot”), Κυπριώτης m (Kypriótis, “Cypriot”)
• Κύπρια f (Kýpria, “female Cypriot”), Κυπριώτισσα f (Kypriótissa, “female Cypriot”)
• κυπριακά n pl (kypriaká, “Cypriot dialect”), κυπριώτικα n pl (kypriótika, “Cypriot dialect”)
• κυπριακός (kypriakós, “Cypriot”, adjective)

In the Cypriot dialect:

• Κυπραίος m (Kypraíos, “Cypriot”)
• Κυπραία f (Kypraía, “female Cypriot”)
• κυπραίικα n pl (kypraíika, “Cypriot dialect”)
• κυπραίος m (kypraíos, “Cypriot”, adjective)

Further reading

• Κύπρος on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el