γλῶσσα

See also: γλώσσα

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• γλάσσᾰ (glássă) — Ionic
• γλῶττᾰ (glôttă) — Attic

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *glṓťťā; further etymology uncertain. Per Beekes, perhaps originally “provided with a point”, equivalent to γλῶχες (glôkhes, “beard of corn”) +‎ -ια (-ia), from Proto-Indo-European *glṓgʰs ~ *gl̥gʰós (“point”) (assuming cognacy with Proto-Slavic *glogъ (“thorn, hawthorn”), but the connection is disputed). Alternatively, related to Proto-Germanic *tulgaz (“tongue”), a poetic word, from a different Proto-Indo-European root noun *dlṓgʰs ~ *dl̥gʰós; compare γλυκύς (glukús) for the phonetics.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɡlɔ̂ːs.sa/ → /ˈɣlos.sa/ → /ˈɣlo.sa/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɡlɔ̂ːs.sa/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡlos.sa/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈɣlos.sa/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈɣlos.sa/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈɣlo.sa/

Noun

γλῶσσᾰ • (glôssă) f (genitive γλώσσης); first declension (Ionic)

1. (anatomy) The tongue.
2. A language.
3. Anything shaped like the tongue:
   1. (music) The mouthpiece of a pipe.
   2. The tongue or thong of leather, shoe-latchet.
   3. The tongue of land.
   4. Ingot.
   5. (divination) The marking on the liver.

Inflection

First declension of ἡ γλῶσσᾰ; τῆς γλώσσης (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ γλῶσσᾰ hē glôssă	τὼ γλώσσᾱ tṑ glṓssā	αἱ γλῶσσαι hai glôssai
Genitive	τῆς γλώσσης tês glṓssēs	τοῖν γλώσσαιν toîn glṓssain	τῶν γλωσσέων / γλωσσῶν tôn glōsséōn / glōssôn
Dative	τῇ γλώσσῃ têi glṓssēi	τοῖν γλώσσαιν toîn glṓssain	τῇσῐ / τῇσῐν γλώσσῃσῐ / γλώσσῃσῐν têisĭ(n) glṓssēisĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν γλῶσσᾰν tḕn glôssăn	τὼ γλώσσᾱ tṑ glṓssā	τᾱ̀ς γλώσσᾱς tā̀s glṓssās
Vocative	γλῶσσᾰ glôssă	γλώσσᾱ glṓssā	γλῶσσαι glôssai
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

First declension of ᾱ̔ γλώσσᾱ; τᾶς γλώσσᾱς (Laconian)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ᾱ̔ γλώσσᾱ hā glṓssā	τὼ γλώσσᾱ tṑ glṓssā	ταὶ γλῶσσαι taì glôssai
Genitive	τᾶς γλώσσᾱς tâs glṓssās	τοῖν γλώσσαιν toîn glṓssain	τᾶν γλωσσᾶν tân glōssân
Dative	τᾷ γλώσσᾳ tâi glṓssāi	τοῖν γλώσσαιν toîn glṓssain	ταῖς γλώσσαις taîs glṓssais
Accusative	τᾱ̀ν γλώσσᾱν tā̀n glṓssān	τὼ γλώσσᾱ tṑ glṓssā	τᾱ̀ς γλώσσᾱς tā̀s glṓssās
Vocative	γλώσσᾱ glṓssā	γλώσσᾱ glṓssā	γλῶσσαι glôssai
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ᾰ̓γκῠλόγλωσσον (ănkŭlóglōsson)
• ᾰ̓γλωσσος (ăglōssos)
• ᾰ̓λλόγλωσσος (ăllóglōssos)
• βᾰθῠ́γλωσσος (băthŭ́glōssos)
• βούγλωσσον (boúglōsson)
• βρᾰδῠ́γλωσσος (brădŭ́glōssos)
• γλῶσσαι (glôssai)
• γλώσσᾰλγος (glṓssălgos)
• γλωσσᾰ́ρῐον (glōssắrĭon)
• γλώσσημᾰ (glṓssēmă)
• γλωσσογρᾰ́φος (glōssogrắphos)
• γλωσσοκομεῖον (glōssokomeîon)
• γλωσσοτομέ (glōssotomé)
• γλωσσώδης (glōssṓdēs)
• δῐ́γλωσσος (dĭ́glōssos)
• ἐπῐγλωσσᾰ́ομαι (epĭglōssắomai)
• ἐπῐγλωσσῐ́ς (epĭglōssĭ́s)
• ἑτερόγλωσσος (heteróglōssos)
• εὔγλωσσος (eúglōssos)
• εὐθῠ́γλωσσος (euthŭ́glōssos)
• ῐ̓δῐόγλωσσος (ĭdĭóglōssos)
• ῐ̔ερόγλωσσος (hĭeróglōssos)
• κῠνόγλωσσος (kŭnóglōssos)
• μελῐ́γλωσσος (melĭ́glōssos)
• ὁμόγλωσσος (homóglōssos)
• πᾰλῐ́γγλωσσος (pălĭ́nglōssos)
• πῐκρόγλωσσος (pĭkróglōssos)
• πλᾰτῠ́γλωσσος (plătŭ́glōssos)
• πολῠ́γλωσσος (polŭ́glōssos)
• πρόγλωσσος (próglōssos)
• τᾰχῠ́γλωσσος (tăkhŭ́glōssos)
• ῠ̒πογλωσσί̆ς (ŭ̒poglōssí̆s)
• ῠ̒πόγλωσσον (ŭ̒póglōsson)
• ῠ̒πόγλωσσος (ŭ̒póglōssos)
• χᾰρῐτόγλωσσος (khărĭtóglōssos)

 

Descendants

Inherited

• Greek: γλώσσα (glóssa)
• Italiot Greek: glossa
• Mariupol Greek: гло́са (hlósa)
• Tsakonian: γρούσσα (groússa)

Borrowed

• → English: glossa
• → Latin: glossa, glōsa, gloss. (abbreviation)
  • → Catalan: glossa
  • → Middle English: glosse
    • English: gloss
  • → Middle High German: glōse
    • German: Glosse
  • Italian: chiosa, → glossa
  • → Old French: glose
    • Middle French: glose
      • French: glose
    • → Czech: glosa
  • → Old Irish: glúas
    • Middle Irish: glúais
      • Irish: gluais
  • → Old Galician-Portuguese: glosa
    • Portuguese: glosa
  • → Old Spanish: glosa
    • Spanish: glosa
  • → Polish: glosa
  • → Romanian: glosă

Further reading

• “γλῶσσα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “γλῶσσα”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “γλῶσσα”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• γλῶσσα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• γλῶσσα in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• γλῶσσα in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “γλῶσσα”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1100 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[2], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • brogue idem, page 100.
  • dialect idem, page 222.
  • language idem, page 475.
  • mouthpiece idem, page 544.
  • speech idem, page 800.
  • taste idem, page 856.
  • tongue idem, page 880.
  • utterance idem, page 941.