οἶστρος

See also: οίστρος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₁eys-, used to form words denoting passion; see also Latin ira (“anger”), Lithuanian aistra (“violent passion”), Avestan 𐬀𐬉𐬴𐬨𐬀 (aēṣ̌ma, “anger”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ôi̯s.tros/ → /ˈys.tros/ → /ˈis.tros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ôi̯s.tros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈys.tros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈys.tros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈys.tros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈis.tros/

Noun

οἶστρος • (oîstros) m (genitive οἴστρου); second declension

1. gadfly, breese
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 22.300
   1. an insect which infests tuna
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 5.31,8
   2. a small insectivorous bird, perhaps the willow warbler
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 8.3,5
2. (figuratively) a sting, anything that drives mad
   • 416 BCE, Euripides, Herakles 862
   1. (absolute) the smart of pain, agony
      • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Women of Trachis 1254
   2. any vehement desire, mad desire, insane passion
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.93
   3. madness, frenzy
      • Sopocles, Antigone 1002

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ οἶστρος; τοῦ οἴστρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ οἶστρος ho oîstros	τὼ οἴστρω tṑ oístrō	οἱ οἶστροι hoi oîstroi
Genitive	τοῦ οἴστρου toû oístrou	τοῖν οἴστροιν toîn oístroin	τῶν οἴστρων tôn oístrōn
Dative	τῷ οἴστρῳ tôi oístrōi	τοῖν οἴστροιν toîn oístroin	τοῖς οἴστροις toîs oístrois
Accusative	τὸν οἶστρον tòn oîstron	τὼ οἴστρω tṑ oístrō	τοὺς οἴστρους toùs oístrous
Vocative	οἶστρε oîstre	οἴστρω oístrō	οἶστροι oîstroi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → French: œstrus
• Greek: οίστρος (oístros)

Related terms

• οἶμα (oîma)

Further reading

• “οἶστρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “οἶστρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “οἶστρος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• οἶστρος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• οἶστρος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • fly idem, page 331.
  • frenzy idem, page 344.
  • gadfly idem, page 351.
  • madness idem, page 507.
  • rage idem, page 668.
  • sting idem, page 817.
  • transport idem, page 889.