μήτηρ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• μᾱ́τηρ (mā́tēr) — Doric
• μᾱ́ταρ (mā́tar) — Arcadocypriot

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *mā́tēr (compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀔𐀳𐀩 (ma-te-re), Doric μᾱ́τηρ (mā́tēr)), from Proto-Indo-European *méh₂tēr. Cognates include Phrygian ματαρ (matar), Old Armenian մայր (mayr), Latin māter, Old Persian 𐎶𐎠𐎫𐎠 (m-a-t-a /⁠mātā⁠/), Avestan 𐬨𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭 (mātar), Sanskrit मातृ (mā́tṛ), Old Church Slavonic мати (mati), and Old English mōdor (English mother).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mɛ̌ː.tɛːr/ → /ˈmi.tir/ → /ˈmi.tir/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mɛ̌ː.tɛːr/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈme̝.te̝r/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.tir/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.tir/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.tir/

Noun

μήτηρ • (mḗtēr) f (genitive μητέρος or μητρός); third declension

1. mother
2. source or origin

Declension

Irregular declension of ἡ μήτηρ; τῆς μητρός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ μήτηρ hē mḗtēr	τὼ μητέρε tṑ mētére	αἱ μητέρες hai mētéres
Genitive	τῆς μητρός tês mētrós	τοῖν μητέροιν toîn mētéroin	τῶν μητέρων tôn mētérōn
Dative	τῇ μητρῐ́ tēî mētrĭ́	τοῖν μητέροιν toîn mētéroin	ταῖς μητρᾰ́σῐ / μητρᾰ́σῐν taîs mētrắsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν μητέρᾰ tḕn mētéră	τὼ μητέρε tṑ mētére	τᾱ̀ς μητέρᾰς tā̀s mētérăs
Vocative	μῆτερ mêter	μητέρε mētére	μητέρες mētéres
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Irregular declension of μήτηρ; μητέρος / μητρός (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	μήτηρ mḗtēr	μητέρε mētére	μητέρες mētéres
Genitive	μητέρος / μητρός mētéros / mētrós	μητέροιν mētéroin	μητέρων mētérōn
Dative	μητέρῐ / μητρῐ́ mētérĭ / mētrĭ́	μητέροιν mētéroin	μητρᾰ́σῐ / μητρᾰ́σῐν mētrắsĭ(n)
Accusative	μητέρᾰ mētéră	μητέρε mētére	μητέρᾰς mētérăs
Vocative	μῆτερ mêter	μητέρε mētére	μητέρες mētéres
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• μητρο- (mētro-)
• Μητρόδωρος (Mētródōros)
• μητρόπολῐς (mētrópolĭs)
• Δημήτηρ (Dēmḗtēr)
• μητρομήτωρ or ματρομάτωρ (mētromḗtōr or matromátōr), grandmother from mother's side (literally meaning mother's mother)
• μητροπάτωρ (mētropátōr), grandfather from mother's side (literally meaning father's mother)

Descendants

• Greek: μητέρα (mitéra)

Further reading

• “μήτηρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μήτηρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “μήτηρ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• μήτηρ 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
• μήτηρ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G3384 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.
  • dam idem, page 193.
  • matron idem, page 518.
  • mother idem, page 542.