δαίμων

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From δαίομαι (daíomai, “to divide”) +‎ -μων (-mōn), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂-i- (“to divide, cut”). For similar semantic development compare Old Persian 𐎲𐎥 (b-g /baga/, “god”), Sanskrit भग (bhága, “dispenser, patron”) (usually applied to gods) beside Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬔𐬀-‎ (baga-, “part”) and Sanskrit भजति (bhájati, “to divide, apportion”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /dǎi̯.mɔːn/ → /ˈðɛ.mon/ → /ˈðe.mon/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /dǎi̯.mɔːn/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈdɛ.mon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈðɛ.mon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈðe.mon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈðe.mon/

Noun

δαίμων • (daímōn) m or f (genitive δαίμονος); third declension

1. god, goddess
   • Homer, Iliad 1.222
   • Homer, Iliad 3.420
   • Homer, Odyssey 6.172
   • Homer, Odyssey 21.196
   1. divine power, deity
      • Homer, Iliad 17.98
      • Herodotus, Histories 1.111
      • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 1443
      • Lysias, Collected Works 135.33
      • Aeschines, Collected Works 69.38
      • Aristophanes, The Birds 544
   2. guardian spirit (Latin genius), and so one's fate, destiny, fortune
      • Homer, Odyssey 5.396, (compare 10.64)
      • Homer, Odyssey 11.61
      • Homer, Iliad 8.166
      • Aeschylus, The Persians 158
      • Aeschylus, The Persians 601
      • Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1342
      • Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes 705
      • Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes 812
      • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 76
      • Antiphon of Rhamnus, Collected Works 122.44
2. departed soul
   • Hesiod, Works and Days 121
   • Hesiod, Works and Days 312
   • Aeschylus, The Persians 620
   • Euripides, Alcestis 1003
3. (ecclesiastical, biblical) demon, evil spirit
   • New Testament, Gospel of Matthew 8:31

Usage notes

While δαίμων was sometimes used interchangeably with θεός (theós), when used together in a context, a δαίμων is usually a lower god than a θεός (theós).

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ, ἡ δαίμων; τοῦ, τῆς δαίμονος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ δαίμων ho, hē daímōn	τὼ δαίμονε tṑ daímone	οἱ, αἱ δαίμονες hoi, hai daímones
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς δαίμονος toû, tês daímonos	τοῖν δαιμόνοιν toîn daimónoin	τῶν δαιμόνων tôn daimónōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ δαίμονῐ tôi, têi daímoni	τοῖν δαιμόνοιν toîn daimónoin	τοῖς, ταῖς δαίμοσῐ / δαίμοσῐν toîs, taîs daímosi(n)
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν δαίμονᾰ tòn, tḕn daímona	τὼ δαίμονε tṑ daímone	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς δαίμονᾰς toùs, tā̀s daímonas
Vocative	δαῖμον daîmon	δαίμονε daímone	δαίμονες daímones
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• δαιμόνιος (daimónios)
• δεισιδαίμων (deisidaímōn)
• εὐδαίμων (eudaímōn)
• κακοδαίμων (kakodaímōn)

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲇⲁⲓⲙⲱⲛ (daimōn), ⲇⲉⲙⲱⲛ (demōn)
• Greek: δαίμονας (daímonas)
• → Latin: daemon
• → English: daimon

References

• δαίμων in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• δαίμων in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• δαίμων in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• δαίμων in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• 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
• δαίμων in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• δαίμων in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2021)
• δαίμων in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1142 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.
  • deity idem, page 206.
  • demon idem, page 209.
  • destiny idem, page 217.
  • divinity idem, page 244.
  • doom idem, page 247.
  • familiar idem, page 305.
  • fate idem, page 309.
  • fortune idem, page 340.
  • genius idem, page 357.
  • god idem, page 365.
  • goddess idem, page 365.
  • lot idem, page 501.
  • luck idem, page 503.
  • spirit idem, page 802.
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 297