- ἀδελφεός
- Grammatical information: m.Meaning: `brother' (Il.)Other forms: Att. ἀδελφός, Cret. αδευπιος.Derivatives: ἀδελφιδέος, -δέη, Att. -δοῦς, -δῆ `nephew', `niece'. ἀδελιφήρ· ἀδελφεός, Λάκωνες H. will be contamination with φράτηρ.Origin: GR [a formation built with Greek elements]Etymology: With α copulativum (*sm̥- `one') and a word for `womb', cf. H.: ἀδελφοί οἱ ἐκ τῆς αὑτῆς δελφύος γεγονότες. δελφὺς γὰρ ἡ μήτρα. The -ε- cannot be from -εϜ- (Cret. -ιος); -eio-, of the adj. of material, Wackernagel Unt. 52f. From an expression *φράτηρ ἀδελφεός, as in Skt. sagarbhya- (cf. ὁμογαστριος). Att. ἀδελφός from contracted forms like ἀδελφοῦ \< -εοῦ. As the inherited word for `brother', φράτηρ, got primarily a religio-political meaning (cf. φράτρα, φρατρία), and perhaps also because the word could also be used for other members of the family of the same stage, like nephews, a term for the brother proper was needed. One has thought that the word derived from pre-Greek societies with mother-right (Kretschmer Glotta 2, 201ff.), but it may have been created in a society with concubines (παλλακή; Gonda Mnem. 15 (1962) 390-2).See also: δελφύςPage in Frisk: 1,19
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.