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οὐρανός

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Ancient Greek

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Of disputed origin, with multiple theories proposed:[1]

  • Perhaps from an older *(ϝ)ορσανός (*(w)orsanós), which may be related to οὐρέω (ouréō, to urinate), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁worseye-, from *h₁wers- (rain) (compare Sanskrit वर्षति (varṣati, it rains). Beekes appears to favor this derivation.
  • From Proto-Indo-European *wers- (to rise, protrude), and compared to Lithuanian viršùs (top, upper), Sanskrit वर्ष्मन् (varṣman, height, top). This is not favored by Beekes.
  • Compared to Sanskrit वरुण (váruṇa, sea god). This is categorically rejected by Beekes.
  • Based on the infix -αν- (-an-), which is difficult to explain as an old Indo-European formation, perhaps Pre-Greek; however, as the sky was very important to Indo-European groups, it is unlikely that a non-Indo-European formation for "sky" would become the dominant word in an Indo-European language.

A folk etymology advanced by Aristotle interpreted it as ὅρος (hóros, limit) and ἄνω (ánō, up).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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οὐρᾰνός (ourănósm (genitive οὐρᾰνοῦ); second declension

  1. the vaulted sky, on which the stars were attached and the sun traveled: sky, heaven
  2. the region above this vault, the home of the gods
  3. (philosophy) the universe
  4. anything shaped like the sky: vaulted ceiling, tent

Inflection

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Greek: ουρανός (ouranós)
  • Mariupol Greek: урано́с (uranós), урано́ (uranó)

References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “οὐρανός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1128

Further reading

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