ἔμπορος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From ἐν- (en-, “on”) +‎ πόρος (póros, “journey”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ém.po.ros/ → /ˈem.po.ros/ → /ˈem.bo.ros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ém.po.ros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈem.po.ros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈem.po.ros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈem.po.ros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈem.bo.ros/

Noun

ἔμπορος • (émporos) m (genitive ἐμπόρου); second declension (Epic, Attic, Koine)

1. one who is on a journey: wayfarer, traveller
   • 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers 661
   • 406 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 25
   • 406 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 303
   • 438 BCE, Euripides, Alcestis 999
2. merchant, trader
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.39:

     τοῖσι μὲν ἂν ᾖ ἀγορὴ καὶ Ἕλληνές σφι ἔωσι ἐπιδήμιοι ἔμποροι, οἳ δὲ φέροντες ἐς τὴν ἀγορὴν ἀπ’ ὦν ἔδοντο

     toîsi mèn àn êi agorḕ kaì Héllēnés sphi éōsi epidḗmioi émporoi, hoì dè phérontes es tḕn agorḕn ap’ ôn édonto

     For some if there is a market and resident Greek merchants are there, they bring it into the market and sell it

   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 6.31

Declension

Second declension of ὁ ἔμπορος; τοῦ ἐμπόρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ἔμπορος ho émporos	τὼ ἐμπόρω tṑ empórō	οἱ ἔμποροι hoi émporoi
Genitive	τοῦ ἐμπόρου toû empórou	τοῖν ἐμπόροιν toîn empóroin	τῶν ἐμπόρων tôn empórōn
Dative	τῷ ἐμπόρῳ tôi empórōi	τοῖν ἐμπόροιν toîn empóroin	τοῖς ἐμπόροις toîs empórois
Accusative	τὸν ἔμπορον tòn émporon	τὼ ἐμπόρω tṑ empórō	τοὺς ἐμπόρους toùs empórous
Vocative	ἔμπορε émpore	ἐμπόρω empórō	ἔμποροι émporoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἐμπορεῖον (emporeîon)
• ἐμπόρευμα (empóreuma)
• ἐμπορεύομαι (emporeúomai)
• ἐμπορευτικός (emporeutikós)
• ἐμπορία (emporía)
• ἐμποριάρχης (emporiárkhēs)
• ἐμπορίζομαι (emporízomai)
• ἐμπορικός (emporikós)
• ἐμπόριον (empórion)

 

Further reading

• “ἔμπορος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἔμπορος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἔμπορος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἔμπορος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “ἔμπορος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • dealer idem, page 198.
  • merchant idem, page 525.
  • trader idem, page 885.
  • traveller idem, page 890.
  • voyager idem, page 958.
  • wholesale dealer idem, page 977.