# δῆμος
## Ancient Greek
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /dɛ̂ː.mos/ → /ˈði.mos/ → /ˈði.mos/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /dɛ̂ː.mos/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈde̝.mos/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈði.mos/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈði.mos/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈði.mos/

### Etymology 1

Together with Mycenaean Greek 𐀅𐀗 (da-mo), traceable back to Proto-Hellenic *dā́mos, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂mos (“part, division”), from *deh₂- (“to share, divide”) + *-mos. Equivalent to δαίομαι (daíomai) +‎ -μος (-mos).

#### Alternative forms

* δᾶμος (dâmos) — Doric

#### Noun

δῆμος • (dêmos) m (genitive δήμου); second declension (Epic, Attic, Ionic, Koine)
* district, country, land
** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.710:πὰρ δέ οἱ ἄλλοι ναῖον Βοιωτοὶ μάλα πίονα δῆμον ἔχοντεςpàr dé hoi álloi naîon Boiōtoì mála píona dêmon ékhontesand hard by him dwelt other Boeotians having a land exceeding rich
** the inhabitants of a district or land
** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.50:πατρί τε σῷ μέγα πῆμα πόληΐ τε παντί τε δήμῳpatrí te sôi méga pêma pólēḯ te pantí te dḗmōigreat pain upon your father, your city, and your people
* the common people
** 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 5.66:ἑσσούμενος δὲ ὁ Κλεισθένης τὸν δῆμον προσεταιρίζεταιhessoúmenos dè ho Kleisthénēs tòn dêmon prosetairízetaiCleisthenes was getting the worst of it and took the common people into his party.
** (rare) commoner
*** 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 12.213:δῆμον ἐόνταdêmon eóntabeing a commoner
* free citizens, sovereign people
** 467 BCE, Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes 1011:δοκοῦντα καὶ δόξαντ’ ἀπαγγέλλειν με χρὴ δήμου προβούλοις τῆσδε Καδμείας πόλεως:dokoûnta kaì dóxant’ apangéllein me khrḕ dḗmou proboúlois têsde Kadmeías póleōs:It is my duty to announce the will and decrees of the council on behalf of the people of this our Cadmean city.
** popular government, democracy
*** 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.82:πάντων τῷ λόγῳ ἀρίστων ἐόντων, δήμου τε ἀρίστου καὶ ὀλιγαρχίης καὶ μουνάρχουpántōn tôi lógōi arístōn eóntōn, dḗmou te arístou kaì oligarkhíēs kaì mounárkhouall are at their best for the sake of argument, the best democracy and oligarchy and monarchy
** popular assembly
*** 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 565b:ἀναγκάζονται δὴ οἶμαι ἀμύνεσθαι, λέγοντές τε ἐν τῷ δήμῳ καὶ πράττοντες ὅπῃ δύνανταιanankázontai dḕ oîmai amúnesthai, légontés te en tôi dḗmōi kaì práttontes hópēi dúnantai[they] are compelled to defend themselves by speeches in the assembly and any action in their power
* township, commune; deme
** 64 BCE – 24 CE, Strabo, Geography 9.1.16:Ἐλευσῖνά τε εἰπὼν ἕνα τῶν ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα δήμωνEleusîná te eipṑn héna tôn hekatòn hebdomḗkonta dḗmōnafter speaking of Eleusis, one of the hundred and seventy demes
* name for a prostitute
** 680 BCE – 645 BCE, Archilochus, Collected Works 184
* faction in a circus

##### Derived terms

* ᾰ̓́δημος (ắdēmos)
* Αἰνεσῐ́δημος (Ainesĭ́dēmos)
* ἀλλόδημος (allódēmos)
* ᾰ̓πόδημος (ăpódēmos)
* Ἀριστόδημος (Aristódēmos)
* Ἀρχέδημος (Arkhédēmos)
* αὐξῐ́δημος (auxĭ́dēmos)
* δημᾰγωγός (dēmăgōgós)
* Δημᾰ́ρᾱτος (Dēmắrātos)
* δημᾰ́ρᾱτος (dēmắrātos)
* δήμαρχος (dḗmarkhos)
* δημεραστής (dēmerastḗs)
* δημεύω (dēmeúō)
* δημεχθής (dēmekhthḗs)
* δημήγορος (dēmḗgoros)
* δημηλᾰσῐ́ᾱ (dēmēlăsĭ́ā)
* δημοβόρος (dēmobóros)
* δημογέρων (dēmogérōn)
* δημοεγερτής (dēmoegertḗs)
* δημοειδής (dēmoeidḗs)
* δημοθεές (dēmotheés)
* δημοθοινέω (dēmothoinéō)
* δημόθροος (dēmóthroos)
* δημοκηδής (dēmokēdḗs)
* Δημοκήδης (Dēmokḗdēs)
* Δημοκλείδης (Dēmokleídēs)
* δημοκλῑ́ναρχος (dēmoklī́narkhos)
* δημόκοινος (dēmókoinos)
* δημοκόλαξ (dēmokólax)
* δημοκοπέω (dēmokopéō)
* δημόκραντος (dēmókrantos)
* δημοκρᾰτέομαι (dēmokrătéomai)
* Δημοκράτης (Dēmokrátēs)
* Δημόκριτος (Dēmókritos)
* δημολᾰ́λητος (dēmolắlētos)
* δημόλευστος (dēmóleustos)
* Δημολέων (Dēmoléōn)
* δημολογέω (dēmologéō)
* Δημονίκη (Dēmoníkē)
* δημοπῐ́θηκος (dēmopĭ́thēkos)
* δημοποίητος (dēmopoíētos)
* δημόπρακτος (dēmópraktos)
* δημοπρᾱ́της (dēmoprā́tēs)
* δημορρῐφής (dēmorrhĭphḗs)
* Δημοσθένης (Dēmosthénēs)
* δημόσσοος (dēmóssoos)
* δημοσσόος (dēmossóos)
* δημοστροφέω (dēmostrophéō)
* δημοσώστης (dēmosṓstēs)
* δημοτελής (dēmotelḗs)
* δημοτερπής (dēmoterpḗs)
* δημότης (dēmótēs)
* δημοτικός (dēmotikós)
* δημοῦχος (dēmoûkhos)
* δημοφᾰ́γος (dēmophắgos)
* Δημοφᾰ́νης (Dēmophắnēs)
* δημοφᾰνής (dēmophănḗs)
* δημόφαντος (dēmóphantos)
* δημοφθόρος (dēmophthóros)
* δημοφῐλής (dēmophĭlḗs)
* Δημοφῶν (Dēmophôn)
* δημοχᾰρής (dēmokhărḗs)
* δημώδης (dēmṓdēs)
* δημωφελής (dēmōphelḗs)
* ἔκδημος (ékdēmos)
* ἔνδημος (éndēmos)
* ἐπιδήμιος (epidḗmios)
* ἐπῐ́δημος (epĭ́dēmos)
* Εὔδημος (Eúdēmos)
* Εὐθύδημος (Euthúdēmos)
* ἐχεδημῐ́ᾱ (ekhedēmĭ́ā)
* Κλείδημος (Kleídēmos)
* κοινόδημος (koinódēmos)
* κρουσῐδημέω (krousĭdēméō)
* Μενέδημος (Menédēmos)
* μῑσόδημος (mīsódēmos)
* Νῑκόδημος (Nīkódēmos)
* ὁμόδημος (homódēmos)
* πάνδημος (pándēmos)
* πολῠ́δημος (polŭ́dēmos)
* Τῑμόδημος (Tīmódēmos)
* φῐλόδημος (phĭlódēmos)
* Φῐλόδημος (Phĭlódēmos)
* Χαρίδημος (Kharídēmos)

##### Related terms

* δημῐ́δῐον (dēmĭ́dĭon)
* δημίζω (dēmízō)
* δήμῐος (dḗmĭos)
* δημόθεν (dēmóthen)
* δημοικός (dēmoikós)
* δημόομαι (dēmóomai)
* δημόσῐος (dēmósĭos)
* δημότερος (dēmóteros)
* δημοτεύομαι (dēmoteúomai)
* δημότης (dēmótēs)
* δημώλης (dēmṓlēs)
* δήμωμᾰ (dḗmōmă)

##### Descendants

* Greek: δήμος (dímos)
* → English: deme, demos
* → Latin: dēmos

### Etymology 2

* This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Rare example of a word that doesn't appear to be covered by Beekes. LSJ appears to consider it equivalent to Etymology 1.”

#### Noun

δῆμος • (dêmos) m (genitive δήμου); second declension
* yellow serradella, Ornithopus compressus

##### Synonyms

* κᾰτᾰνάγκη (kătănánkē)

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “δῆμος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 325, posits after Pedersen possibly feminine Proto-Indo-European *deh₂mos (“people”) by comparing Old Welsh dauu (“client”), Welsh daw, dawf (“son-in-law”), Old Cornish dof (“son-in-law”), Old Irish dám (“company”), though the Celtic terms are now connected to *dṓm (“house, home”) (see them for more)
* ↑ “δῆμος”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

### Further reading

* “δῆμος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “δῆμος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* δῆμος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
* δῆμος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
* Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited. canton idem, page 111.common idem, page 148.commons idem, page 149.county idem, page 178.demus idem, page 210.district idem, page 242.parish idem, page 593.people idem, page 604.plebeian idem, page 620.populace idem, page 626.proletariat idem, page 653.shire idem, page 766.
* δῆμος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* G1218 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* 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
* Bernal, Martin (2006) Black Athena. Volume III. The Linguistic Evidence, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, page 415, derived from Egyptian dmj (“town, village”)
* Frisk, Hjalmar (1960) “δῆμος”, in Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume I, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, pages 380–381