περί

See also: περι-, περί-, and πέρι

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

    From Proto-Indo-European *peri (“in crossing, in passing”), locative singular of *per- (“before, in front”). Cognates include Sanskrit परि (pári), Latin per, Lithuanian per, English for, and Albanian për.[1]

    The genitive is from the PIE ablative of cause. The dative is from the locative. The accusative is like παρά (pará).

    Pronunciation

     

    Preposition

    περῐ́ • (perĭ́) (governs the genitive, dative, and accusative)

    1. [with genitive]
      1. about, concerning, because of
    2. [with dative]
      1. around, for, about
    3. [with accusative]
      1. around (both in the circular sense and close proximity sense), near, about

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Greek: περί (perí)
    • → Dutch: peri-
    • → English: peri-
    • → Finnish: peri-
    • → French: péri-
    • → Italian: peri-
    • → Spanish: peri-

    References

    1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “πέρι”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1176

    Further reading

    Greek

    Etymology

    From Ancient Greek περί (perí).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /peˈɾi/

    Preposition

    περί • (perí)

    1. (mathematics) about, approximately
      περί τις πεντακόσιες δραχμές
      perí tis pentakósies drachmés
      about five hundred drachmas
    2. about, concerning
      Δεν ήξερα περί τίνος πρόκειται.
      Den íxera perí tínos prókeitai.
      I didn't know what it was about.

    Usage notes

    • In the second sense, the noun following this preposition always uses the genitive case.

    Synonyms

    Further reading

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