ἐλεύθερος

See also: ελεύθερος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *eléutʰeros, adjectival formation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow up; people, tribe”); the original meaning of the word was "belonging to the tribe". Cognates include Latin līber, Old Church Slavonic людинъ (ljudinŭ, “free man”), and Old English leōd.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /e.lěu̯.tʰe.ros/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /eˈleʍ.tʰe.ros/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /eˈleɸ.θe.ros/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈlef.θe.ros/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈlef.θe.ros/

Adjective

ἐλεύθερος • (eleútheros) m (feminine ἐλευθέρᾱ, neuter ἐλεύθερον); first/second declension

free
(substantive) freedom
fit for a freeman

Declension

First and second declension of ἐλεύθερος; ἐλευθέρᾱ; ἐλεύθερον (Attic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ἐλεύθερος eleútheros	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλεύθερον eleútheron	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλεύθεροι eleútheroi	ἐλεύθεραι eleútherai	ἐλεύθερᾰ eleútheră
Genitive	ἐλευθέρου eleuthérou	ἐλευθέρᾱς eleuthérās	ἐλευθέρου eleuthérou	ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin	ἐλευθέραιν eleuthérain	ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin	ἐλευθέρων eleuthérōn	ἐλευθέρων eleuthérōn	ἐλευθέρων eleuthérōn
Dative	ἐλευθέρῳ eleuthérōi	ἐλευθέρᾳ eleuthérāi	ἐλευθέρῳ eleuthérōi	ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin	ἐλευθέραιν eleuthérain	ἐλευθέροιν eleuthéroin	ἐλευθέροις eleuthérois	ἐλευθέραις eleuthérais	ἐλευθέροις eleuthérois
Accusative	ἐλεύθερον eleútheron	ἐλευθέρᾱν eleuthérān	ἐλεύθερον eleútheron	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλευθέρους eleuthérous	ἐλευθέρᾱς eleuthérās	ἐλεύθερᾰ eleútheră
Vocative	ἐλεύθερε eleúthere	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλεύθερον eleútheron	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλευθέρᾱ eleuthérā	ἐλευθέρω eleuthérō	ἐλεύθεροι eleútheroi	ἐλεύθεραι eleútherai	ἐλεύθερᾰ eleútheră
Derived forms	Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
Derived forms	ἐλευθέρως eleuthérōs			ἐλευθερώτερος eleutherṓteros			ἐλευθερώτᾰτος eleutherṓtătos
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Ἐλευθεραί (Eleutheraí)
ἐλευθερῐ́ᾱ (eleutherĭ́ā)
ἐλευθερόστομος (eleutheróstomos)
ἐλευθερόφρων (eleutheróphrōn)
ἐλευθερόψῡχος (eleutherópsūkhos)
ἐλευθερόω (eleutheróō)

Descendants

→ English: Eleuthera
Greek: ελεύθερος (eléftheros)
- → Romanian: lefter
Translingual: ⇒ Eleutherozoa, ⇒ Eleutherengona

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἐλεύθερος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 408

“ἐλεύθερος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἐλεύθερος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ἐλεύθερος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἐλεύθερος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
ἐλεύθερος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἐλεύθερος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
“ἐλεύθερος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G1658 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- broad idem, page 100.
- candid idem, page 110.
- exempt idem, page 290.
- frank idem, page 342.
- free idem, page 343.
- free-born idem, page 344.
- generous idem, page 356.
- high-minded idem, page 400.
- independent idem, page 432.
- liberal idem, page 488.
- open idem, page 574.
- outspoken idem, page 583.
- plain-spoken idem, page 617.
- unconstrained idem, page 911.
- unencumbered idem, page 916.
- unfettered idem, page 918.
- unmortgaged idem, page 926.
- unreserved idem, page 929.
- unrestricted idem, page 930.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἐλεύθερος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 408

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