αἴλουρος

See also: αίλουρος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• αἰέλουρος (aiélouros)
• λείουρος (leíouros)

Etymology

Pre-Greek. Longstanding tradition holds it to derive from αἰόλος (aiólos, “fast moving, nimble”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”); while it has the feel of folk etymology, it may nonetheless be the case. Has also been compared to Latin viverra (“ferret”) and Lithuanian vaiveris (“polecat”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ǎi̯.luː.ros/ → /ˈɛ.lu.ros/ → /ˈe.lu.ros/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ǎi̯.luː.ros/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.lu.ros/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.lu.ros/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.lu.ros/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈe.lu.ros/

Noun

αἴλουρος • (aílouros) m or f (genitive αἰλούρου); second declension

1. cat; domestic cat, tom (male), queen (female)
2. weasel

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ, ἡ αἴλουρος; τοῦ, τῆς αἰλούρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ αἴλουρος ho, hē aílouros	τὼ αἰλούρω tṑ ailoúrō	οἱ, αἱ αἴλουροι hoi, hai aílouroi
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς αἰλούρου toû, tês ailoúrou	τοῖν αἰλούροιν toîn ailoúroin	τῶν αἰλούρων tôn ailoúrōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ αἰλούρῳ tôi, têi ailoúrōi	τοῖν αἰλούροιν toîn ailoúroin	τοῖς, ταῖς αἰλούροις toîs, taîs ailoúrois
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν αἴλουρον tòn, tḕn aílouron	τὼ αἰλούρω tṑ ailoúrō	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς αἰλούρους toùs, tā̀s ailoúrous
Vocative	αἴλουρε aíloure	αἰλούρω ailoúrō	αἴλουροι aílouroi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

• κάττα (kátta)

Descendants

• Greek: αίλουρος (aílouros)
• → Translingual: Ailurus
• → Latin: aelurus

References

• “αἴλουρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “αἴλουρος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• αἴλουρος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• αἴλουρος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • cat idem, page 118.
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN