- δεσπότης
- δεσπότης, -ουGrammatical information: m.Meaning: `master (of the house), lord' (Pi.; on its absence in Homer [δέσποινα Od.] s. Wackernagel Unt. 209 A. 1).Compounds: After αὑτο-, οἰκο-, φιλο-.Derivatives: δέσποινα `mistress of the house, lady' (Od.); δεσποινικός `in the service of the queen' (PMasp. 88, 10, VIp); also δεσπότις `id.' (S.), rare δεσπότειρα (S. Fr. 1040), δεσπότρια (Sch. E. Hek. 397); on the feminin forms Fraenkel Nom. ag. 2, 27; on NGr. δεσποινίς Schwyzer 133. Rare dimin. δεσποτίσκος (E.), δεσποτίδιον (Aristaenet.). - Adj. δεσπόσυνος `beloning to the lord' (Tyrt., h. Cer.), with δεσποσύνη `lordship' (Hdt.); δεσπόσιος `id.' (A.), δεσποτικός (Pl.), δεσπότειος (Lyk.). - Denomin. δεσπόζω `be lord' (Ion.-Att.); δέσποσμα (Man.). δεσποτέω `id.', `obey a δ.' (A.). δεσποτεύω `id.' (LXX); δεσποτεία (Pl.).Origin: IE [Indo-European] [198] *dems-pot- `lord of the house'Etymology: Cf. Skt. dámpati- (also in two words pátir dán), Av. dǝng paitiš `lord'. In Greek it became a fixed compound, which for the i-stem (s. πόσις) became an ā-stem (after old examples, cf. Lat. agricola, ἀγκυλο-μήτης beside μῆτις; Schwyzer 451). δέσποινα from *δεσ-ποτ-νι̯α. - The first part, IE *dems- (from which Gr. δεσ-, Skt. dam-), is the genetive of a word for `house' (s. δόμος). - An old synonym is Lith. viẽšpats; s. οἶκος.Page in Frisk: 1,370-371
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.