ἀθλητής

See also: αθλητής

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀθλητήρ (athlētḗr) — Epic

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From ἀθλέω (athléō, “to contend”) +‎ -τής (-tḗs, masculine agentive suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.tʰlɛː.tɛ̌ːs/ → /a.θliˈtis/ → /a.θliˈtis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.tʰlɛː.tɛ̌ːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.tʰle̝ˈte̝s/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.θliˈtis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.θliˈtis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.θliˈtis/

Noun

ἀθλητής • (athlētḗs) m (genitive ἀθλητοῦ); first declension

1. a combatant, champion, especially a prizefighter
   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Nemean Ode 5.90
   • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Nemean Ode 10.95
   1. (as an adjective) pertaining to competition
      • 445 BCE – 380 BCE, Lysias, Collected Works 157.39
      • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Parmenides 137A
2. (with genitive) practiced in, master of
   • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 543B
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes, Against Aristogiton 1 97
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 6.7.3:

     ἐκκεκριμένους δὲ ἐκ παίδων ἀθλητὰς εἶναι αὐτοὺς τῶν ἔργων:

     ekkekriménous dè ek paídōn athlētàs eînai autoùs tôn érgōn:

Inflection

First declension of ὁ ἀθλητής; τοῦ ἀθλητοῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ἀθλητής ho athlētḗs	τὼ ἀθλητᾱ́ tṑ athlētā́	οἱ ἀθληταί hoi athlētaí
Genitive	τοῦ ἀθλητοῦ toû athlētoû	τοῖν ἀθληταῖν toîn athlētaîn	τῶν ἀθλητῶν tôn athlētôn
Dative	τῷ ἀθλητῇ tôi athlētêi	τοῖν ἀθληταῖν toîn athlētaîn	τοῖς ἀθληταῖς toîs athlētaîs
Accusative	τὸν ἀθλητήν tòn athlētḗn	τὼ ἀθλητᾱ́ tṑ athlētā́	τοὺς ἀθλητᾱ́ς toùs athlētā́s
Vocative	ἀθλητᾰ́ athlētá	ἀθλητᾱ́ athlētā́	ἀθληταί athlētaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἀθλητικός (athlētikós)

Descendants

• Greek: αθλητής (athlitís)
• Latin: āthlēta
  • English: athlete
• Russian: атлет (atlet)

Further reading

• “ἀθλητής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀθλητής”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἀθλητής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀθλητής in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • athlete idem, page 49.
  • gymnast idem, page 380.
  • sportsman idem, page 804.