ἄχερδος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ἀγέρδα (agérda)

Etymology

According to Beekes, from a substrate root common to Albanian dardhë (“pear”). But this ignores the presence of Crimean Tatar kertme (“pear”), dialectal Turkish kertme (“pear”), Kipchak كرتما / chertme (“pear”), allegedly from the verb which is in Turkish kertmek (“to notch, to indent”) because originally meaning a sort of pear which was grafted, then having the transparent suffix -me (forms things created as the result of verbs), but also Ossetian кӕрдо (kærdo, “pear”), Chechen кхор (qor, “pear”), Ingush кхор (qor, “pear”).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /á.kʰer.dos/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈa.kʰer.dos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.çer.ðos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.çer.ðos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈa.çer.ðos/

Noun

ᾰ̓́χερδος • (ắkherdos) f (genitive ᾰ̓χέρδου); second declension

wild pear (Pyrus amygdaliformis)
Synonyms: ἄπιος (ápios), ἀχράς (akhrás), ὄγχνη (ónkhnē)

Declension

Second declension of ἡ ᾰ̓́χερδος; τῆς ᾰ̓χέρδου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓́χερδος hē ắkherdos	τὼ ᾰ̓χέρδω tṑ ăkhérdō	αἱ ᾰ̓́χερδοι hai ắkherdoi
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓χέρδου tês ăkhérdou	τοῖν ᾰ̓χέρδοιν toîn ăkhérdoin	τῶν ᾰ̓χέρδων tôn ăkhérdōn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓χέρδῳ têi ăkhérdōi	τοῖν ᾰ̓χέρδοιν toîn ăkhérdoin	ταῖς ᾰ̓χέρδοις taîs ăkhérdois
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓́χερδον tḕn ắkherdon	τὼ ᾰ̓χέρδω tṑ ăkhérdō	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓χέρδους tā̀s ăkhérdous
Vocative	ᾰ̓́χερδε ắkherde	ᾰ̓χέρδω ăkhérdō	ᾰ̓́χερδοι ắkherdoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

“ἄχερδος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
ἄχερδος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἄχερδος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
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
Brands, Horst Wilfrid (1973) Studien zum Wortbestand der Türksprachen: Lexikalische Differenzierung, Semasiologie, Sprachgeschichte (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, →ISBN, page 110