λοιμός

See also: λιμός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, though perhaps related to λῑμός (līmós, “famine”) (via ablaut), as well as λοιγός (loigós, “ruin”) (via different suffix).^[1] Compare λῡ́μη (lū́mē), λῦμᾰ (lûmă), λῡμαίνομαι (lūmaínomai)

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /loi̯.mós/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /lyˈmos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /lyˈmos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /lyˈmos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /liˈmos/

Noun

λοιμός • (loimós) m (genitive λοιμοῦ); second declension

plague; pestilence (any deadly, infectious disorder)
Synonym: φᾰ́ρῠγξ (phắrŭnx)
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.61:
  ἐννῆμαρ μὲν ἀνὰ στρατὸν ᾤχετο κῆλα θεοῖο, / τῇ δεκάτῃ δ’ ἀγορὴν δὲ καλέσσατο λαὸν Ἀχιλλεύς: / τῷ γὰρ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη: / κήδετο γὰρ Δαναῶν, ὅτι ῥα θνήσκοντας ὁρᾶτο. / οἳ δ’ ἐπεὶ οὖν ἤγερθεν ὁμηγερέες τε γένοντο, / τοῖσι δ’ ἀνιστάμενος μετέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς: / «Ἀτρεΐδη νῦν ἄμμε παλιμπλαγχθέντας ὀΐω / ἂψ ἀπονοστήσειν, εἴ κεν θάνατόν γε φύγοιμεν, / εἰ δὴ ὁμοῦ πόλεμός τε δαμᾷ καὶ λοιμὸς Ἀχαιούς:»
  ennêmar mèn anà stratòn ōíkheto kêla theoîo, / tēî dekátēi d’ agorḕn dè kaléssato laòn Akhilleús: / tōî gàr epì phresì thêke theà leukṓlenos Hḗrē: / kḗdeto gàr Danaôn, hóti rha thnḗskontas horâto. / hoì d’ epeì oûn ḗgerthen homēgerées te génonto, / toîsi d’ anistámenos metéphē pódas ōkùs Akhilleús: / «Atreḯdē nûn ámme palimplankhthéntas oḯō / àps aponostḗsein, eí ken thánatón ge phúgoimen, / ei dḕ homoû pólemós te damāî kaì loimòs Akhaioús:»
  For nine days the missiles of the god ranged among the host, / but on the tenth Achilles called the people to assembly, / for the goddess, white-armed Hera, had put it in his heart / since she pitied the Danaans, when she saw them dying. / When they were assembled and gathered together, / among them arose and spoke swift-footed Achilles: / “Son of Atreus, now I think we shall return home, / beaten back again, should we even escape death, / if war and pestilence alike are to ravage the Achaeans.
  
  English translation (1924) by A.T. Murray.
  
  Scene: Apollo causes a plague to afflict the Greek army.
- 431 BCE – 404 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 2.47:
  καὶ ὄντων αὐτῶν οὐ πολλάς πω ἡμέρας ἐν τῇ Ἀττικῇ ἡ νόσος πρῶτον ἤρξατο γενέσθαι τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, λεγόμενον μὲν καὶ πρότερον πολλαχόσε ἐγκατασκῆψαι καὶ περὶ Λῆμνον καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις χωρίοις, οὐ μέντοι τοσοῦτός γε λοιμὸς οὐδὲ φθορὰ οὕτως ἀνθρώπων οὐδαμοῦ ἐμνημονεύετο γενέσθαι.
  kaì óntōn autôn ou pollás pō hēméras en tēî Attikēî hē nósos prôton ḗrxato genésthai toîs Athēnaíois, legómenon mèn kaì próteron pollakhóse enkataskêpsai kaì perì Lêmnon kaì en állois khōríois, ou méntoi tosoûtós ge loimòs oudè phthorà hoútōs anthrṓpōn oudamoû emnēmoneúeto genésthai.
  Not many days after their arrival in Attica the plague first began to show itself among the Athenians. It was said that it had broken out in many places previously in the neighborhood of Lemnos and elsewhere; but a pestilence of such extent and mortality was nowhere remembered.
  
  English translation: Thucydides. The Peloponnesian War. London, J. M. Dent; New York, E. P. Dutton. 1910
  
  The "Plague of Athens" occurred in 430 BCE, second year of the Peloponnesian War, causing a breakdown of Athens' strength, probably one of the factors causing its defeat.
(figurative, of person) a pest; a persistent annoyance

Declension

Second declension of ὁ λοιμός; τοῦ λοιμοῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ λοιμός ho loimós	τὼ λοιμώ tṑ loimṓ	οἱ λοιμοί hoi loimoí
Genitive	τοῦ λοιμοῦ toû loimoû	τοῖν λοιμοῖν toîn loimoîn	τῶν λοιμῶν tôn loimôn
Dative	τῷ λοιμῷ tōî loimōî	τοῖν λοιμοῖν toîn loimoîn	τοῖς λοιμοῖς toîs loimoîs
Accusative	τὸν λοιμόν tòn loimón	τὼ λοιμώ tṑ loimṓ	τοὺς λοιμούς toùs loimoús
Vocative	λοιμέ loimé	λοιμώ loimṓ	λοιμοί loimoí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of λοιμός; λοιμοῖο / λοιμοῦ (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	λοιμός loimós	λοιμώ loimṓ	λοιμοί loimoí
Genitive	λοιμοῖο / λοιμοῦ loimoîo / loimoû	λοιμοῖῐ̈ν loimoîĭ̈n	λοιμῶν loimôn
Dative	λοιμῷ loimōî	λοιμοῖῐ̈ν loimoîĭ̈n	λοιμοῖσῐ / λοιμοῖσῐν / λοιμοῖς loimoîsĭ(n) / loimoîs
Accusative	λοιμόν loimón	λοιμώ loimṓ	λοιμούς loimoús
Vocative	λοιμέ loimé	λοιμώ loimṓ	λοιμοί loimoí
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Second declension of ὁ λοιμός; τοῦ λοιμοῦ (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ λοιμός ho loimós	τὼ λοιμώ tṑ loimṓ	οἱ λοιμοί hoi loimoí
Genitive	τοῦ λοιμοῦ toû loimoû	τοῖν λοιμοῖν toîn loimoîn	τῶν λοιμῶν tôn loimôn
Dative	τῷ λοιμῷ tōî loimōî	τοῖν λοιμοῖν toîn loimoîn	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν λοιμοῖσῐ / λοιμοῖσῐν toîsĭ(n) loimoîsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν λοιμόν tòn loimón	τὼ λοιμώ tṑ loimṓ	τοὺς λοιμούς toùs loimoús
Vocative	λοιμέ loimé	λοιμώ loimṓ	λοιμοί loimoí
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Related terms

ἐπῐλοίμῐᾰ (epĭloímĭă)
θερμολοίμη (thermoloímē)
λοιμεύομαι (loimeúomai)
λοίμη (loímē)
λοιμῐ́η (loimĭ́ē)
λοιμῐκός (loimĭkós)
λοίμῐος (loímĭos)
λοιμοποιός (loimopoiós)
λοιμότης (loimótēs)
λοιμοφόρος (loimophóros)
λοιμώδης (loimṓdēs)
λοιμώσσω (loimṓssō)
λοιμώττω (loimṓttō)
προσπεπῐλοιμώττω (prospepĭloimṓttō)

Descendants

Greek: λοιμός (loimós)

Adjective

λοιμός • (loimós) m or f (neuter λοιμόν); second declension

(Koine) pestilent
- 300 BCE – 200 BCE, 1 Samuel 1.16

Declension

Second declension of λοιμός; λοιμόν (Koine)

Number	Singular			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	λοιμός loimós		λοιμόν loimón	λοιμοί loimoí		λοιμᾰ́ loimắ
Genitive	λοιμοῦ loimoû		λοιμοῦ loimoû	λοιμῶν loimôn		λοιμῶν loimôn
Dative	λοιμῷ loimōî		λοιμῷ loimōî	λοιμοῖς loimoîs		λοιμοῖς loimoîs
Accusative	λοιμόν loimón		λοιμόν loimón	λοιμούς loimoús		λοιμᾰ́ loimắ
Vocative	λοιμέ loimé		λοιμόν loimón	λοιμοί loimoí		λοιμᾰ́ loimắ

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “λοιμός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 869

Greek

FWOTD – 27 May 2020

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek λοιμός (loimós).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /liˈmos/
Hyphenation: λοι‧μός
Homophone: λιμός (limós)

Noun

λοιμός • (loimós) m (plural λοιμοί)

(medicine) epidemic, plague
Ο Περικλής πέθανε στον «Λοιμό των Αθηνών», που το 430 σκότωσε πάνω από 75.000 Αθηναίους.
O Periklís péthane ston «Loimó ton Athinón», pou to 430 skótose páno apó 75.000 Athinaíous.
Pericles died during the Plague of Athens in 430 (BCE) which took the lives of more than 75,000 Athenians.
- και στο κατώφλι πρόβαινε, σα χάρος, σα λοιμός,
  ψηλός, ωραίος κι αλαζών, ο δύστροπος πατέρας
  kai sto katófli próvaine, sa cháros, sa loimós,
  psilós, oraíos ki alazón, o dýstropos patéras
  and on the threshold he appeared, looking like death, looking like plague
  tall, beautiful and arrogant, the twisted-tempered father.
  
  Yiannis Ritsos, (1935) poetry collection Πυραμίδες (Pyramídes, “Pyramids”), "Explanation"

Declension

Declension of **λοιμός**
	singular	plural
nominative	λοιμός (loimós)	λοιμοί (loimoí)
genitive	λοιμού (loimoú)	λοιμών (loimón)
accusative	λοιμό (loimó)	λοιμούς (loimoús)
vocative	λοιμέ (loimé)	λοιμοί (loimoí)

Related terms

λοιμοκαθαρτήριο n (loimokathartírio, “quarantine”)
λοιμώδης (loimódis, “infectious”)
λοίμωξη f (loímoxi, “infection”)
ουρολοίμωξη f (ouroloímoxi)

λοιμός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms

Descendants

Adjective

Declension

References

Further reading

Greek

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms

Further reading