μύρτος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Akin to Avestan 𐬨𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬆𐬨𐬆𐬱𐬀 (muštəməša), Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (mwlt'), Parthian 𐫖𐫇𐫇𐫡𐫅 (mwwrd), Persian مورد (murd), Old Armenian մուրտ (murt), Old Georgian მურტი (murṭi, “myrtle”). Due to the variation μυρτ-/μυρσ-, Beekes opts for a Pre-Greek borrowing.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mýr.tos/ → /ˈmyr.tos/ → /ˈmir.tos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mýr.tos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmyr.tos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmyr.tos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmyr.tos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmir.tos/

Noun

μύρτος • (múrtos) f (genitive μύρτου); second declension

1. myrtle (Myrtus communis)
2. twig or spray of myrtle

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ μῠ́ρτος; τῆς μῠ́ρτου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ μῠ́ρτος hē mŭ́rtos	τὼ μῠ́ρτω tṑ mŭ́rtō	αἱ μῠ́ρτοι hai mŭ́rtoi
Genitive	τῆς μῠ́ρτου tês mŭ́rtou	τοῖν μῠ́ρτοιν toîn mŭ́rtoin	τῶν μῠ́ρτων tôn mŭ́rtōn
Dative	τῇ μῠ́ρτῳ têi mŭ́rtōi	τοῖν μῠ́ρτοιν toîn mŭ́rtoin	ταῖς μῠ́ρτοις taîs mŭ́rtois
Accusative	τὴν μῠ́ρτον tḕn mŭ́rton	τὼ μῠ́ρτω tṑ mŭ́rtō	τᾱ̀ς μῠ́ρτους tā̀s mŭ́rtous
Vocative	μῠ́ρτε mŭ́rte	μῠ́ρτω mŭ́rtō	μῠ́ρτοι mŭ́rtoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἱερόμυρτος (hierómurtos)
• μυρσεών (murseṓn)
• μυρσίνη (mursínē)
• μυρσινίτης (mursinítēs)
• μύρσινος (múrsinos)
• μυρταλίς (murtalís)
• μυρτάς (murtás)
• μυρτίδανον (murtídanon)
• μυρτίλωψ (murtílōps)
• μυρτίς (murtís)
• μύρτον (múrton)
• μυρτοπέταλον (murtopétalon)
• μυρτόσπληνον (murtósplēnon)
• μυρτωτή (murtōtḗ)

Descendants

• → Old Church Slavonic: мѵръта (mürŭta), мрътва (mrŭtva)
• → Latin: myrtus (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• “μύρτος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μύρτος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• μύρτος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• 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
• Laufer, Berthold (1919) Sino-Iranica: Chinese contributions to the history of civilization in ancient Iran, with special reference to the history of cultivated plants and products (Fieldiana, Anthropology; 15), volume 3, Chicago: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, page 461, footnote 2
• Nyberg H. S. (posthumous), Utas, Bo, editors (1988), Frahang-i pahlavīk, Toll, Christopher, collaborator, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 66
• Hehn, Victor with Schrader, Otto (1911) Kulturpflanzen und Haustiere in ihrem Übergang aus Asien nach Griechenland und Italien sowie in das übrige Europa‎^[1] (in German), 8^th edition, Berlin: Gebrüder Borntraeger, pages 238–239