Εὐρώπη

See also: Ευρώπη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

Uncertain, but either from:

  • εὐρύς (eurús) + ὤψ (ṓps), literally meaning "wide face" (as a description of the beauty of the mythical Europa) or "broad eye" (metaphorically meaning something like "as far as the eye can see")
  • Semitic origin; compare also Ἀσία (Asía), related to
  • From a separate Semitic root related to guarantees and exchanges, found in Arabic عَرَبُون (ʕarabūn, down payment), Hebrew בֶּן‑עֲרֻבָּה (ben‑ʿărubbāh, hostages), Classical Syriac ܥܪܘܒܐ (ˁārōḇā, hostages), stemming from mythology in which Europa is famously abducted; see the story of Cadmus, a figure also with Semitic associations, who seeks after his kidnapped sister.

Pronunciation

 

Proper noun

Εὐρώπη • (Eurṓpēf (genitive Εὐρώπης); first declension

  1. (Greek mythology) Europa (several characters, most notably a Phoenician princess abducted to Crete by Zeus)
  2. Europe (a continent located west of Asia and north of Africa)

Inflection

The personal name rarely takes a definite article.

Descendants

  • Greek: Ευρώπη (Evrópi)
    • Albanian: Evropa, Evropë
    • Aromanian: Evropa
  • Latin: Europa (see there for further descendants)
  • Old Armenian: Եւրոպա (Ewropa), Եւրոպիա (Ewropia)

References

  • Εὐρώπη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • Εὐρώπη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,010
  • Rotter, Gernot (1993) “Der dies veneris im vorislamischen Mekka, eine neue Deutung des Namens „Europa“ und eine Erklärung für kobar = Venus”, in Der Islam[2] (in German), volume 70, number 1, →DOI, pages 122–139