μάρτυ-ρος

Grammatical information: m. f.

Meaning: `witness' (Il.; on the spread etc. E. Kretschmer Glotta 18, 92 f., on the use in Homer Nenci Par. del Pass. 13, 221ff.) `martyr, (blood-witness)' (christ. lit.; s. Bauer Gr.-dt. Wb. s.v.).

Other forms: Aeol. (Hdn. Gr.) a. Dor. μάρτυρ, Cret. Epid. μαῖτυς (- ρς), - ρος, acc. also μάρτυν (Simon.), dat. pl. μάρτυσι (- ρσι Hippon.?); ep., also NWGr. μάρτυρος.

Compounds: Compp., e.g. μαρτυρο-ποιέομαι `call as witness' (inscr., pap.), ψευδό-μαρτυς `false witness' (Pl.; Risch IF 59, 257 f.), ἐπί-μαρτυς `witness' (Ar., Call., A. R.), prob. backformation from ἐπι-μαρτύρομαι, - ρέω; on supposed ἐπιμάρτυρος (for ἔπι μάρτυρος) see Leumann Hom. Wörter 71.

Derivatives: μαρτυρία (λ 325; cf. below on μαρτυρέω), μαρτύριον (IA) `testimony, evidence'. Denominatives: 1. μαρτύρομαι, also wiht prefix, e.g. δια-, ἐπι-, `call as witness' (IA); 2. μαρτυρέω, often w. prefix, e.g. ἀντι-, ἐκ-, ἐπι-, δια-, κατα-, συν-, `testify, bear witness' (Alc., Pi., IA) with μαρτύρημα (E.), ( ἀντι-, κατα-)-μαρτύρησις (Epicur., pap.) `testimony', also ( δια-, ἐκ-, ἐπι-, συμ-) μαρτυρία `id.' (cf. above and Scheller Oxytonierung 34f. w. n. 4).

Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]

Etymology: The basis may be a verbal noun *μάρ-τυ- `testimony', seen in μάρ-τυς, - τυν, - τυσι; cf. below. The change from abstract `testimony' to appellative `witness' is attested more often, e.g. Fr. témoin \< Lat. testimonium, Engl. witness orig. `testimony', then `witness'. The suffix ρο- gave the personal, prob. orig. adjectival μάρτυ-ρος. A compromise with μάρτυς gave perhaps the consonantstem μάρτυρ-; note esp. the gen. pl. μαρτύρων ( ἐναντίον μαρτύρων etc.), which can be both from the o-stem and from the consonantstem; further see Egli Heteroklisie 117ff. Dissimilation occurred in μαῖτυ(ρ)ς (\< *μάρτυρ-ς); μάρτυσι and μάρτυς can be explained in the same way (Schwyzer 260); cf. above. - As zero grade τυ-derivation μάρτυς may belong to a verb for `remember', which may be found in Skt. smárati and which may have other derivatives in Greek, e.g. μέριμνα (s. v.); proper meaning *'remembrance'. -- Not with Thieme Studien 55 (with criticism of the traditional interpretation): from *mr̥t-tur prop. `seizing death' (?), cf. Leumann Gnomon 25, 191. - But this cannot explain the vocalism, so rather a loand from Pre-Greek (Fur. 296). The speculations above, which start from an IE origin, must be rejected.

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