μέρμις

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The formation is similar to γέλγῑς (gélgīs), δέλλῑς (déllīs) and ὄρνῑς (órnīs). Cognates have been supposed in μηρύω (mērúō, “to wind up”) as well as in βρόχος (brókhos, “noose”) and μάραθον (márathon, “fennel”). The word may be of Pre-Greek origin and related to μήρινθος (mḗrinthos, “fishing line”) and μῆριγξ (mêrinx, “bristle, hair”) but compare Latvian mer̂ga, Proto-Slavic *merža (“net”), and possibly Lithuanian márška (“fishing net”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /mér.miːs/ → /ˈmer.mis/ → /ˈmer.mis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /mér.miːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmer.mis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmer.mis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmer.mis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmer.mis/

Noun

μέρμῑς • (mérmīs) f (genitive μέρμῑθος); third declension

1. cord, string, rope

Declension

Third declension of ἡ μέρμῑς; τῆς μέρμῑθος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ μέρμῑς hē mérmīs	τὼ μέρμῑθε tṑ mérmīthe	αἱ μέρμῑθες hai mérmīthes
Genitive	τῆς μέρμῑθος tês mérmīthos	τοῖν μερμῑ́θοιν toîn mermī́thoin	τῶν μερμῑ́θων tôn mermī́thōn
Dative	τῇ μέρμῑθῐ têi mérmīthi	τοῖν μερμῑ́θοιν toîn mermī́thoin	ταῖς μέρμῑσῐ / μέρμῑσῐν taîs mérmīsi(n)
Accusative	τὴν μέρμῑθᾰ tḕn mérmītha	τὼ μέρμῑθε tṑ mérmīthe	τᾱ̀ς μέρμῑθᾰς tā̀s mérmīthas
Vocative	μέρμῑς mérmīs	μέρμῑθε mérmīthe	μέρμῑθες mérmīthes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-tʰs.

Descendants

• → Translingual: Mermis

Further reading

• “μέρμις”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “μέρμις”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “μέρμις”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• μέρμις in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• μέρμις in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN