Ἀμαζών

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The Greeks claimed that the word derives from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + μαζός (mazós, “breast”), in reference to the belief that Amazons cut off their right breast so that it might not hinder their ability to fire a bow or throw a spear. However, this is almost certainly a folk etymology; in art, Amazons are always shown with two intact breasts. The word is likely of foreign origin, perhaps an Ionian Greek pronunciation of the Old Persian word *hamazan- (“warrior”), as the Amazon women were known warriors; this is the most reasonable, as it would derive from Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬨𐬀‎ (hama) (together), from Proto-Indo-European *somHós + Avestan 𐬵𐬀𐬰𐬀𐬵‎ (hazah) (power), from Proto-Indo-European *séǵʰos. Ionians did not aspirate the first syllable, and the word became Amazon to the Greeks in general. It could also be native Greek, such as from a Proto-Indo-European *n̥-mn̥gʷ-yō (“manless one”), from Proto-Indo-European *mongʷyos (“man”) (compare Proto-Slavic *mǫžь), an explanation deemed unlikely by Hjalmar Frisk. Numerous other etymologies have been proposed, generally tracing the word back to Iranian, Greek or (West/East) Caucasian languages.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.maz.dɔ̌ːn/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.maˈzon/

Noun

Ἀμαζών • (Amazṓn) f (genitive Ἀμαζόνος); third declension

(chiefly in the plural) Amazons, a nation of female warriors from western Scythia.

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ Ᾰ̓μαζών; τῆς Ᾰ̓μαζόνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ Ᾰ̓μαζών hē Amazṓn	τὼ Ᾰ̓μαζόνε tṑ Amazóne	αἱ Ᾰ̓μαζόνες hai Amazónes
Genitive	τῆς Ᾰ̓μαζόνος tês Amazónos	τοῖν Ᾰ̓μαζόνοιν toîn Amazónoin	τῶν Ᾰ̓μαζόνων tôn Amazónōn
Dative	τῇ Ᾰ̓μαζόνῐ têi Amazóni	τοῖν Ᾰ̓μαζόνοιν toîn Amazónoin	ταῖς Ᾰ̓μαζόσῐ / Ᾰ̓μαζόσῐν taîs Amazósi(n)
Accusative	τὴν Ᾰ̓μαζόνᾰ tḕn Amazóna	τὼ Ᾰ̓μαζόνε tṑ Amazóne	τᾱ̀ς Ᾰ̓μαζόνᾰς tā̀s Amazónas
Vocative	Ᾰ̓μαζών Amazṓn	Ᾰ̓μαζόνε Amazóne	Ᾰ̓μαζόνες Amazónes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

References

“Ἀμαζών”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“Ἀμαζών”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
Ἀμαζών in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Ἀμαζών in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2023)
“Ἀμαζών”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- amazon idem, page 26.

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