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The corpus record

νῆσος

nesos

island

Generated live from the audited corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

Where it lives

Densest 12 of 47 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. νῆσος · nēsos — Beekes

νῆσος [f.] ‘island’ (I1.); also ‘(flooded) land near a river, alluvial land’ (Tab. Heracl., pap.). eVAR Dor. νᾶσος (Rhod. νᾶσσος SGDI 4123, 4 [I*]). *COMP Some compounds, e.g. νησο-φύλαξ ‘guardian of the island’ (Ὁ. S.), νησίapxoc, -ἄρχης ‘governor of the island’ (Antiph. com., Hell. inscr., etc.), after ταξί-, πολί-αρχος, etc; not from νησίς or νησίον; χερσό-νῃησος, Att. χερρό-, Dor. -νασος (f.] ‘peninsula’; … — [Beekes, s.v. νῆσος, p. 1069]

2. νῆσος · nēsos — Chantraine

νῆσος : dor. νᾶσος, rhod. νᾶσσος (16 XII 1,70) f., d'où le gén. pl. hétéroclite νησάων (Call. H. Délos 66) «île » (Hom., ion.-att., etc.), terrain d’alluvion au bord d'un fleuve (Tab. Héraclée 1,38, pap. pour le terrain recouvert par le Nil, opposé à ἤπειρος). Au second terme de composé, dans Πελοπόννησος (avec -νήσιοι, -νησιακός, -νᾶσιστί) « Péloponnèse », Χερσόννησος « péninsule », notamment la Chersonèse de … — [Chantraine, s.v. νῆσος, p. 769]

3. νῆσος · nēsos — Frisk

νῆσος, dor. νᾶσος (rhod. νᾶσσος SGDI 4123, 4; 18) f. “Insel, Eiland’ (seit Π.); auch “(abgelagerter) Landstreifen am Fluß, der gelegentlich vom Wasser bedeckt wird’ (Tab. Herakl., Pap.; ngr. [unterit.] nasida; Schwyzer Festschr. Kretschmer 245ff., Rohlfs Wb. No. 1457). Einige Kompp., z.B. νησοφύλαξ “Inselwächter” (D. S.), νησί-αρχος, -ἄρχης “Inselherrscher’ (Antiph. Kom., hell. Inschr. n.a.), nach ταξί-, noAi-apyos … — [Frisk, s.v. νῆσος, p. 1289]

4. νῆσος · nēsos — LSJ

island, the islands

island, Il. 2.721, etc.; ἐν τᾷ μεγάλᾳ Δωρίδι νάσῳ Πέλοπος, i.e. the Peloponnese, S. OC 696; μακάρων νῆσοι, v. μάκαρ; αἱ ν. the islands of the Archipelago, Ar. Eq. 1319, X. HG 4.8.1; καὶ πῶς γυνὴ . . νῆσον ἀμφιέννυται; Anaxil. 35 (cf. περίνησος): heterocl. gen. pl. νησάων Call. Del. 66.

2 land flooded, alluvial land

land flooded by the Nile, PHib. 1.90.7 (iii B.C.), etc.; opp. ἤπειρος, PGiss. 60 (ii A.D.); νῆσοι ποταμοφόρητοι POxy. 1445.13 (ii A.D.); so of alluvial land in Tab.Heracl. 1.38.

In the wild

6 of 511 attestations shown. Ask for more.

Where it came from

  • Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Brill 2010) Treated in Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Brill 2010) s.v. νῆσος (scan pp. 1069-1070; entry #4342). Root candidates: *av-.
  • Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. νῆσος (scan p. 769; entry #5652).
  • Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch Treated in Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. νῆσος (scan p. 1289; entry #4098).

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