# θάλασσα
## Ancient Greek
### Alternative forms

* σᾰ́λᾰσσᾰ (sắlăssă) — Laconian
* θᾰ́λᾰθθᾰ (thắlăththă) — Cretan
* θᾰ́λᾰττᾰ (thắlăttă) — Attic, later

### Etymology

According to Beekes, a Pre-Greek substrate borrowing tentatively reconstructed as *talak$^y$a; the element "-σσ-", as well as the local geographic meaning, points to a Pre-Greek origin. Compare the possible cognate Luwian 𒀀𒆷𒀸𒊭𒄠𒈪𒅖 (/⁠alassammis⁠/).
Older theories related the word to ἅλς (háls, “salt”), cf. Latin sāl (“salt”), salum (“sea”), Salacia (“sea goddess”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /tʰá.las.sa/ → /ˈθa.las.sa/ → /ˈθa.la.sa/
* (5th BCE Attic) IPA: /tʰá.las.sa/
* (1st CE Egyptian) IPA: /ˈtʰa.las.sa/
* (4th CE Koine) IPA: /ˈθa.las.sa/
* (10th CE Byzantine) IPA: /ˈθa.las.sa/
* (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA: /ˈθa.la.sa/

### Noun

θᾰ́λᾰσσᾰ • (thắlăssă) f (genitive θᾰλᾰ́σσης); first declension
* sea
    Synonyms: πέλαγος (pélagos), πόντος (póntos)
* the Mediterranean Sea
* channel
* salt water

#### Derived terms

* Ἐρυθρὰ θάλασσα (Eruthrà thálassa)
* θαλασσαίγλη (thalassaíglē)
* θαλασσαῖος (thalassaîos)
* θαλασσερός (thalasserós)
* θαλασσεύς (thalasseús)
* θαλασσεύω (thalasseúō)
* θαλασσία (thalassía)
* θαλασσίγονος (thalassígonos)
* θαλασσίδιος (thalassídios)
* θαλασσίζω (thalassízō)
* θαλάσσιος (thalássios)
* θαλασσίτης (thalassítēs)
* θαλασσοβαφέω (thalassobaphéō)
* θαλασσοβαφής (thalassobaphḗs)
* θαλασσοβίωτος (thalassobíōtos)
* θαλασσοβραχής (thalassobrakhḗs)
* θαλασσογενής (thalassogenḗs)
* θαλασσογράφος (thalassográphos)
* θαλασσοδομέτρης (thalassodométrēs)
* θαλασσοειδής (thalassoeidḗs)
* θαλασσόκλυστος (thalassóklustos)
* θαλασσοκοπέω (thalassokopéō)
* θαλασσοκράμβη (thalassokrámbē)
* θαλασσοκρατέω (thalassokratéō)
* θαλασσοκρατία (thalassokratía)
* θαλασσοκράτωρ (thalassokrátōr)
* θαλασσομαχέω (thalassomakhéō)
* θαλασσομάχος (thalassomákhos)
* θαλασσομέδων (thalassomédōn)
* θαλασσόμελι (thalassómeli)
* θαλασσομιγής (thalassomigḗs)
* θαλασσόμοθος (thalassómothos)
* θαλασσονόμος (thalassonómos)
* θαλασσόπαις (thalassópais)
* θαλασσόπλαγκτος (thalassóplanktos)
* θαλασσόπληκτος (thalassóplēktos)
* θαλασσόπλοος (thalassóploos)
* θαλασσοποιός (thalassopoiós)
* θαλασσοπορέω (thalassoporéō)
* θαλασσοπόρος (thalassopóros)
* θαλασσοπόρφυρος (thalassopórphuros)
* θαλασσόπρασον (thalassóprason)
* θαλασσόσημος (thalassósēmos)
* θαλασσοτείχιστος (thalassoteíkhistos)
* θαλασσότοκος (thalassótokos)
* θαλασσουργέω (thalassourgéō)
* θαλασσουργία (thalassourgía)
* θαλασσουργός (thalassourgós)
* θαλασσόω (thalassóō)
* θαλασσώδης (thalassṓdēs)
* θαλάσσωσις (thalássōsis)
* παραθαλάσσιος (parathalássios)

#### Descendants

* Greek: θάλασσα (thálassa)
* Mariupol Greek: тъа́ласа (θálasa)
* Tsakonian: θάσσα (thássa)
* → Coptic: ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ (thalassa), ϩⲁⲗⲁⲥⲥⲁ (halassa)
* → English: thalasso-, Thalassa
* → Latin: Thalassa
* → Old Anatolian Turkish: طلز (talaz)
** Gagauz: talaz
** Ottoman Turkish: طالاز (talaz), طلاس (talas), تالاز (talaz)
*** Turkish: talaz
*** → Albanian: tallaz
*** → Romanian: talaz
*** → Serbo-Croatian: tȁlās / та̏ла̄с
*** → Zazaki: talaz
* → Romani: talaso

### References

* ↑ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “θάλασσα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 530
* ↑ https://www.robertbeekes.nl/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/b124.pdf

### Further reading

* “θάλασσα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “θάλασσα”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “θάλασσα”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
* θάλασσα 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
* θάλασσα in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
* “θάλασσα”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
* G2281 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
* θάλασσα in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
* Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited. atlantic (sea) idem, page 49.brine idem, page 99.deep idem, page 203.sea idem, page 744.water idem, page 967.

## Greek
### Etymology

From Ancient Greek θάλασσα (thálassa). Cognate with Tsakonian θάσσα (thássa, “sea”), Mariupol Greek тъа́ласа (θálasa).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈθalasa]

### Noun

θάλασσα • (thálassa) f (plural θάλασσες)
* sea
    Βαλτική Θάλασσα, Μεσόγειος Θάλασσα ― Valtikí Thálassa, Mesógeios Thálassa ― Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea
* sea (all the seas and oceans)
    Πήγε στη θάλασσα.Píge sti thálassa.He went to sea.
* storm
    πολύ θάλασσα ― polý thálassa ― heavy seas, stormy weather

#### Usage notes

* ωκεανός m (okeanós, “ocean”) (e.g. Atlantic, Pacific)
* θάλασσα f (thálassa, “larger sea”) (e.g. Mediterranean, Baltic, Caribbean)
* πέλαγος n (pélagos, “smaller sea”) (e.g. Adriatic, Aegean, Ionian)

#### Related terms

* ακροθαλασσιά f (akrothalassiá, “seashore”)
* θαλασσής (thalassís, “light blue”)
* θαλασσί n (thalassí, “light blue”)
* θαλασσινά n pl (thalassiná, “seafood”)
* θαλασσινή f (thalassiní, “seawoman, seafarer, dweller by the sea”)
* θαλασσινός m (thalassinós, “seaman, seafarer, dweller by the sea”)
* θαλασσινός (thalassinós, “marine, in the sea”)
* θαλάσσιος (thalássios, “marine, sea”)
* θαλασσίτσα n (thalassítsa)
* θαλασσόβιος (thalassóvios, “frequenting the sea”)
* θαλασσογραφία f (thalassografía, “seascape”)
* θαλασσοδάνειο n (thalassodáneio, “sea loan, risky loan, bottomry”)
* θαλασσοδαρμένος (thalassodarménos, “weather-beaten, beaten by the sea”)
* θαλασσοδέρνομαι (thalassodérnomai)
* θαλασσοδέρνω (thalassodérno)
* θαλασσοκράτειρα f (thalassokráteira, “sea power”)
* θαλασσοκρατία f (thalassokratía, “sea mastery, naval supremacy”)
* θαλασσοκράτορας m (thalassokrátoras, “sea power”)
* θαλασσοκρατορία f (thalassokratoría, “sea mastery, naval supremacy”)
* θαλασσόλυκος m (thalassólykos, “sea dog, old salt”)
* θαλασσόλυκος n (thalassólykos)
* θαλασσόνερο n (thalassónero, “seawater”)
* θαλασσοπνίγομαι (thalassopnígomai, “be half-drowned, be in difficulties at sea”)
* θαλασσοπόρος m or f (thalassopóros, “seavoyager, navigator, marine explorer”)
* θαλασσοπούλι n (thalassopoúli, “seabird”)
* θαλασσοταραχή f (thalassotarachí, “rough sea”)
* θαλασσόχορτο n (thalassóchorto, “samphire”)
* θαλασσώνω (thalassóno, “to mess things up”)
* λαοθάλασσα f (laothálassa)
* λιμνοθάλασσα f (limnothálassa)

### Further reading

* θάλασσα, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language
* θάλασσα on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia $^{el}$