- ἐρέτης
- ἐρέτηςGrammatical information: m.Meaning: `rower' (Il.),Other forms: myk. e-re-ta; eree \/erehen\/ Perpillou, Minos 9\/2,1968, 208-212.Compounds: As 2. member in ὑπ-ηρέτης, s. v.Derivatives: ἐρετικός `concerning the rowers' (Att.); collective abstrakt εἰρεσίη, -ία (εἰ- metr. lengthening, maintained in prose) `the rowers' (Od.); denomin. verb ἐρέσσω, rare Att. ἐρέττω, aor. ἐρέσ(σ)αι `row' (Il.; on the formation Schwyzer 725). - Beside these the noun instr. ἐρετμόν n. `oar' (Il.) with ἐρετμόω `complete with oars' (E.), PN Έρετμεύς (θ 111; Boßhardt Die Nomina auf -ευς 121). - Here also the PN Έρέτρια as "the rowing (town)". - On themselves the nouns in -ηρης and -ερος, -ορος like τρι-ήρης `three-rower' (Ion.-Att.), ἁλι-ήρης `rowing the sea' (κώπη E. Hek. 455 [lyr.]), πεντηκόντερος, πεντηκόντ-ορος `fifty-rower' (Ion.-Att.), s. below.Origin: IE [Indo-European] [338] *h₁erh₁-, h₁reh₁- `row'Etymology: The agent noun ἐρέ-της points like the synonymous Skt. ari-tár- (= Gr. *ἐρε-τήρ (*h₁erh₁-) in Έρέτρ-ιᾱ) to a disyllabic primary verb `row', which in Greek was replaced by the denominative ἐρέσσω (uncertain Myc. e-re-e), but is present in other languages: Lith. iriù, ìrti (with acute, agreeing with disyllabic ἐρε-, \< *h₁r̥h₁-), Germ., e. g. ONo. rōa, Celt., e. g. OIr. imb-rā `row, sail' (IE rō- against rē- (i. e. *h₁reh₁- *h₁roh₁-) in Lat. rēmus, cf. below). Traces of this verb in Greek in τρι-ήρης `three-rower' etc. (with compositional lengthening and ending after the σ-stems), πεντηκόντ-ερος, -ορος `fifty-rower' etc. (after the ο-stems, also with -ο- after -γονος, -φορος a. o.; not with J. Schmidt KZ 32, 327 vowel-harmony). Perhaps with το-suffix (Lesb.) τέρρητον τριήρης H., if with Brugmann IF 13, 152f. haplological for *τερρ-έρητον \< *τρι-έρητον, cf. Schwyzer 274. - On influence of ἐρέτης rests prob. the form ἐρετμόν against Skt. arí-tr-a- `oar' (from ari-tár-), Lat. rēmus (formation unclear). - Details in Schwyzer KZ 63, 52ff., Hermann Gött. Nachr. 1943, 3f.; further Pok. 338, W.-Hofmann s. rēmus.Page in Frisk: 1,553-554
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.