σωτήρ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From σῴζω (sṓizō, “to save”) +‎ -τήρ (-tḗr).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sɔː.tɛ̌ːr/ → /soˈtir/ → /soˈtir/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sɔː.tɛ̌ːr/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /soˈte̝r/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /soˈtir/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /soˈtir/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /soˈtir/

Noun

σωτήρ • (sōtḗr) m (genitive σωτῆρος); third declension

1. saviour, deliverer, preserver (often as an epithet of protecting gods, especially Zeus)

Declension

Third declension of ὁ σωτήρ; τοῦ σωτῆρος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ σωτήρ ho sōtḗr	τὼ σωτῆρε tṑ sōtêre	οἱ σωτῆρες hoi sōtêres
Genitive	τοῦ σωτῆρος toû sōtêros	τοῖν σωτήροιν toîn sōtḗroin	τῶν σωτήρων tôn sōtḗrōn
Dative	τῷ σωτῆρῐ tôi sōtêri	τοῖν σωτήροιν toîn sōtḗroin	τοῖς σωτῆρσῐ / σωτῆρσῐν toîs sōtêrsi(n)
Accusative	τὸν σωτῆρᾰ tòn sōtêra	τὼ σωτῆρε tṑ sōtêre	τοὺς σωτῆρᾰς toùs sōtêras
Vocative	σῶτερ sôter	σωτῆρε sōtêre	σωτῆρες sōtêres
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Note the irregular vocative singular

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲥⲱⲧⲏⲣ (sōtēr)
• → English: soterial, soteriology
• Greek: σωτήρας (sotíras)

Further reading

• “σωτήρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σωτήρ 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
• G4990 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.
  • deliverer idem, page 208.
  • maintainer idem, page 508.
  • preserver idem, page 637.
  • protector idem, page 653.
  • regenerator idem, page 687.
  • rescuer idem, page 701.
  • restorer idem, page 705.
  • saviour idem, page 736.
  • supporter idem, page 841.
  • upholder idem, page 938.