# Ἀλέξανδρος
## Ancient Greek
### Etymology

From ἀλέξω (aléxō, “to repel”) + the stem ἀνδρ- (andr-) of ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”) +‎ -ος (-os), thus “the man who repels [enemies]”. The Hittite 𒀀𒆷𒀝𒊭𒀭𒁺𒍑 (/⁠Alakšānduš⁠/, “Alaksandu”) (attested in the 13th century BCE) seems to have been borrowed from an equivalent name in an ancestor language of Ancient Greek or some related dialect, perhaps Mycenaean Greek. A Linear B name, Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀩𐀏𐀭𐀅𐀨 (a-re-ka-sa-da-ra), seemingly corresponding to the feminine form Ancient Greek Ἀλεξάνδρα (Alexándra), is the earliest attested form of the name.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /a.lék.san.dros/ → /aˈlek.san.dros/ → /aˈlek.san.dros/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /a.lék.san.dros/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /aˈlek.san.dros/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /aˈlek.san.dros/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /aˈlek.san.dros/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /aˈlek.san.dros/

### Proper noun

Ᾰ̓λέξᾰνδρος • (Ăléxăndros) m (genitive Ᾰ̓λεξᾰ́νδρου); second declension
* A title held by Hera and Paris, among others.
* a male given name, equivalent to English Alexander, most famously held by Alexander the Great
** 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Alexander the Great 14:καὶ μικρὸν μὲν ἀνεκάθισεν, ἀνθρώπων τοσούτων ἐπερχομένων, καὶ διέβλεψεν εἰς τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον. ὡς δὲ ἐκεῖνος ἀσπασάμενος καὶ προσειπὼν αὐτὸν ἠρώτησεν εἴ τινος τυγχάνει δεόμενος, “Μικρόν,” εἶπεν, “ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου μετάστηθι.”kaì mikròn mèn anekáthisen, anthrṓpōn tosoútōn eperkhoménōn, kaì diéblepsen eis tòn Aléxandron. hōs dè ekeînos aspasámenos kaì proseipṑn autòn ērṓtēsen eí tinos tunkhánei deómenos, “Mikrón,” eîpen, “apò toû hēlíou metástēthi.”Diogenes raised himself up a little when he saw so many persons coming towards him, and fixed his eyes upon Alexander. And when that monarch addressed him with greetings, and asked if by chance he wanted anything, “Yes,” said Diogenes, “stand a little out of my sun.”

#### Derived terms

* Ᾰ̓λεξᾰ́νδρειᾰ (Ălexắndreiă)
* Ᾰ̓λεξᾰνδρέττᾰ (Ălexăndréttă)
* Ᾰ̓λεξᾰνδρῐ́ζω (Ălexăndrĭ́zō)
* Ᾰ̓λεξᾰνδρῐστής (Ălexăndrĭstḗs)
* Ᾰ̓λεξᾰνδροκόλᾰξ (Ălexăndrokólăx)
* Ᾰ̓λεξᾰνδρώδης (Ălexăndrṓdēs)

#### Descendants

* Greek: Αλέξανδρος (Aléxandros)
* → Albanian: Lleshdër, Leshdër
* → Arabic: أَلِكْسَنْدَرُوس (ʔaliksandarūs), إِسْكَنْدَر (ʔiskandar), الْإِسْكَنْدَر (al-ʔiskandar) (see there for further descendants)
* → Coptic: ⲁⲗⲉⲝⲁⲛⲇⲣⲟⲥ (aleksandros)
* → Egyptian: ꜣrwksjndrs
* → Etruscan: 𐌀𐌋𐌄𐌙𐌔𐌀𐌍𐌕𐌓𐌄 (Aleχsantre), 𐌀𐌋𐌉𐌙𐌔𐌀𐌍𐌕𐌓𐌄 (Aliχsantre)
* → Gagauz: Aleksandri
* → Georgian: ალექსანდრე (aleksandre)
* → Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌹𐌺𐍃𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍂𐌿𐍃 (alaiksandrus)
* → Japanese: アレクサンドロス (Arekusandorosu)
* → Latin: Alexander (see there for further descendants)
* → Middle Persian:
    Manichaean script: [Manichaean needed] (ʾlxsyndr)
    Book Pahlavi script: [Book Pahlavi needed] (ʾlksndl)
* → Old Armenian: Աղեքսանդր (Ałekʻsandr)
** ⇒ Armenian: Ալեքսանդր (Alekʻsandr)
* → Old Church Slavonic: Алеѯандръ (Aleksandrŭ) (see there for further descendants)

### Further reading

* “Ἀλέξανδρος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* 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
* Ἀλέξανδρος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
* “Ἀλέξανδρος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G223 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, page 1,000
* Nestle, Eberhard, Aland, Kurt with et al. (2012) Novum Testamentum Graece‎, 28th revised edition, 4th corrected printing edition, Stuttgart: Stuttgart Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, →ISBN
* Alexander on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* Beekes, Robert Stephen Paul (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Leiden-Boston: Leiden Indo-European Dictionary Series page 64 and page 103