# πρέσβυς
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* πρεῖγυς (preîgus) — Cretan

### Etymology

The first component of the word is likely from Proto-Indo-European *pres (“before, in front”), an extended form of *per-. The second component is debated:
* From Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cattle”), thus "one who leads cattle".
* From Proto-Indo-European *gʷew-, a variant of *gʷem- (“to go”), thus "one who goes in front". Compare Sanskrit पुरोगव (purogava, “leader”), from पुरस् (puras, “in front”) and गम् (gam, “to go”).
* Together with the first component, from Proto-Indo-European *pre(y)sgʷu-, and cognate with Old Armenian երէց (erēcʻ, “elder, senior”) and Latin priscus (“ancient”), pristinus (“primitive, pristine”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /préz.bys/ → /ˈprez.βys/ → /ˈprez.vis/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /préz.bys/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈprez.bys/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈprez.βys/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈprez.vys/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈprez.vis/

### Adjective

πρέσβῠς • (présbus) m (feminine πρέσβειᾰ, neuter πρέσβῠ); first/third declension
* elderly, aged
** 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 941
** 409 BCE, Sophocles, Philoctetes 665

#### Declension
### Noun

πρέσβῠς • (présbus) m (genitive πρέσβεως); third declension
* old man
* elder, chief, prince
** 458 BCE, Aeschylus, Agamemnon 184,205,530
* (superlative) revered, honored
* ambassador
** 470 BCE, Aeschylus, The Suppliants 728
* (at Sparta) a political title, higher than γέρων (gérōn, “senator”): chief, president
** Inscriptiones Laconiae 1237, 1326
* a name of the τρόχιλος (trókhilos, “wren”)
** 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 9.11,5
* a type of daw or chough
** 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 9.1,15

#### Usage notes

For the feminine, see πρέσβᾰ (présba), πρέσβειρᾰ (présbeira), πρεσβηῐ́ς (presbēís).

#### Synonyms

* (ambassador): πρεσβευτής (presbeutḗs)

#### Derived terms

* πρεσβεία (presbeía)
* πρεσβεῖον (presbeîon)
* πρεσβεύω (presbeúō)

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “πρέσβυς”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1231-2

### Further reading

* “πρέσβυς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “πρέσβυς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “πρέσβυς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* πρέσβυς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* πρέσβυς in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* “πρέσβυς”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G4245 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited. ambassador idem, page 26.commissioner idem, page 148.deputy idem, page 213.envoy idem, page 279.legate idem, page 484.old man idem, page 572.
* “πρέσβυς”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, 2011

## Greek
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek πρέσβυς (présbus).

### Noun

πρέσβυς • (présvys) m (plural πρέσβεις, feminine πρέσβειρα)
* Katharevousa form of πρέσβης (présvis, “ambassador”)

#### Related terms

* see: πρέσβης m (présvis, “ambassador”)