# ἄνθρωπος
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* ἅνθρωπος (hánthrōpos) — Attic, crasis with definite article ὁ (ho)
* ὥνθρωπος (hṓnthrōpos) — Ionic, crasis with definite article ὁ (ho)
* ἀνθρωπώ (anthrōpṓ) — Laconian
* 𐠀𐠰𐠦𐠡𐠩 (a-to-ro-po-se) — Cypriot

### Etymology

First attested in Hellenic as Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀵𐀫𐀦 (a-to-ro-qo), of uncertain origin. Scholars used to consider it to be a compound from ἀνήρ (anḗr, “man”) and ὤψ (ṓps, “face, appearance, look”): thus, "he who looks like a man". However, a δ (d) would be expected to develop by epenthesis, as in the genitive ἀνδρός (andrós), yielding *ἀνδρωπος (*andrōpos). Rosén defends this etymology, positing that the original laryngeal *h₃ in the root for ὤψ (ṓps) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ókʷs) changed the δ to its aspirated counterpart θ even across the intervening ρ.
Beekes argues that since no convincing Indo-European etymology has been found, the word is probably of Pre-Greek origin; he connects the word with the word δρώψ (drṓps, “man”). According to Beekes (2009:xxix), "Shift of aspiration is found in some cases: θριγκός / τριγχός, ἀθραγένη / ἀνδράχνη".
Garnier proposes a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥dʰéreh₃kʷós (“that which is below”) (from *n̥dʰér + *-h₃kʷ-o-), hence "earthly, human", for this compare with Proto-Indo-European *dʰéǵʰōm (“earth”) whence Latin homō, Old Lithuanian žmuõ (“man”), Old English guma (“man”).
The word is treated in Plato's Cratylus.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /án.tʰrɔː.pos/ → /ˈan.θro.pos/ → /ˈan.θro.pos/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /án.tʰrɔː.pos/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈan.tʰro.pos/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈan.θro.pos/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈan.θro.pos/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈan.θro.pos/

### Noun

ἄνθρωπος • (ánthrōpos) m or f (genitive ἀνθρώπου); second declension (Epic, Attic, Ionic, Doric, Koine)
* human being, person (as differentiated from gods, beasts, etc.); man, woman
* (philosophical) man, humanity
* (sometimes in the plural) all human beings, mankind
* (in feminine, derogatory) female slave

#### Declension

* (female slave):

#### Derived terms

* ἀνθρώπινος (anthrṓpinos)
* ἀνθρωποειδής (anthrōpoeidḗs)
* ἀνθρωποκεντρικός (anthrōpokentrikós)
* ἀνθρωπολογία (anthrōpología)
* ἀνθρωπομορφισμός (anthrōpomorphismós)
* ἀνθρωποποιία (anthrōpopoiía)
* μῑσάνθρωπος (mīsánthrōpos)
* ὀλιγανθρωπία (oliganthrōpía)

#### Descendants

* → Greek: άνθρωπος (ánthropos, “man”)
* → English: Anthropos (learned)

### References

* ↑ Haiim B. Rosén (1986), Ἄνθρωπος, in: Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung 99, issue 2, pp. 243–244.
* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄνθρωπος”, 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 107
* ↑ Garnier, Romain (2008) “Nouvelles réflexions étymologiques autour du grec ἄνθρωπος [New etymological reflections about the Greek ἄνθρωπος]”, in Bulletin de la société de linguistique de Paris‎, number 102.1, pages 131-154
* ↑ “Plato's Cratylus. Section 399c.”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎, Perseus Project Texts, 2019 April 26 (last accessed), archived from the original on 26 November 2020:"I will tell you. The name “man” (ἄνθρωπος) indicates that the other animals do not examine, or consider, or look up at (ἀναθρεῖ) any of the things that they see, but man has no sooner seen—that is, ὄπωπε—than he looks up at and considers that which he has seen. Therefore of all the animals man alone is rightly called man (ἄνθρωπος), because he looks up at (ἀναθρεῖ) what he has seen (ὄπωπε)." section 400-401 for discussion of semantic shift and spelling in pre-ionic to attican dialect.

### Further reading

* “ἄνθρωπος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “ἄνθρωπος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “ἄνθρωπος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* ἄνθρωπος 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
* ἄνθρωπος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* ἄνθρωπος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
* “ἄνθρωπος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G444 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. being idem, page 72.man idem, page 510.mortal idem, page 541.
* Hofmann, J. B. (1949) “ἄνθρωπος”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen‎ (in German), Munich: R. Oldenbourg