ἀϋτμή

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Traditionally considered a derivative of ἄημι (áēmi, “to breathe, blow”), but there are formal issues. Fritz instead derives the word from the zero-grade *h₂sut- of Proto-Indo-European *h₂sewt- (“to roil, seethe”), whence also Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to seethe, boil”) and Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (sauþs, “sacrifice”) (< o-grade *h₂sowt-); this derivation is preferred by Beekes for phonetic and semantic soundness.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.yːt.mɛ̌ː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.ytˈme̝/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.ytˈmi/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.ytˈmi/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.itˈmi/

Noun

ἀῡ̈τμή • (aṻtmḗ) f (genitive ἀῡ̈τμῆς); first declension

breath; scent
vapor^[2]

Declension

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμή; τῆς ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμή hē ăṻtmḗ	τὼ ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμᾱ́ tṑ ăṻtmā́	αἱ ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμαί hai ăṻtmaí
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμῆς tês ăṻtmês	τοῖν ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμαῖν toîn ăṻtmaîn	τῶν ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμῶν tôn ăṻtmôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμῇ tēî ăṻtmēî	τοῖν ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμαῖν toîn ăṻtmaîn	ταῖς ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμαῖς taîs ăṻtmaîs
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμήν tḕn ăṻtmḗn	τὼ ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμᾱ́ tṑ ăṻtmā́	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμᾱ́ς tā̀s ăṻtmā́s
Vocative	ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμή ăṻtmḗ	ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμᾱ́ ăṻtmā́	ᾰ̓ῡ̈τμαί ăṻtmaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

νήυτμος (nḗutmos)
ἀϋτμήν (aütmḗn)
ἀϋτμένος (aütménos)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἀϋτμή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 172
^ Fritz, M. (1993). "Griechisch άϋτμή‛ Dampf, Duft’" in Historische Sprachforschung/Historical Linguistics, 106(2. H), pages 288-301

“ἀϋτμή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἀυτμή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ἀυτμή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἀϋτμή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἀϋτμή, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011
ἀϋτμή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἀϋτμή in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἀϋτμή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 172

[2] Fritz, M. (1993). "Griechisch άϋτμή‛ Dampf, Duft’" in Historische Sprachforschung/Historical Linguistics, 106(2. H), pages 288-301

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