House, masculine or feminine?

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aemilius
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House, masculine or feminine?

Post by aemilius »

Hello, <br /><br />I have found 2 greek words for house - masculine and feminine: <br />[size=18=18]οἶκος and<br />[size=18=18]οἰκία<br /><br />Is there any difference in meaning like home and house or they are interchangeable?<br /><br />Thanks

annis
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Re:House, masculine or feminine?

Post by annis »

[quote author=aemilius link=board=2;threadid=205;start=0#979 date=1056787844]<br />I have found 2 greek words for house - masculine and feminine: <br />[size=18=18]οἶκος and<br />[size=18=18]οἰκία<br /><br />Is there any difference in meaning like home and house or they are interchangeable?<br />[/quote]<br /><br />You know, I've never thought to look this up, though I've noticed it before.<br /><br />It seems that [size=150]οἶκος can mean house or home, but also buildings/rooms associated with a house; it can also refer to a temple. From the "room" idea, [size=150]οἶκοι can refer to a single house.<br /><br />It seems that [size=150]οἰκία mostly referes to the "home" idea: can be the building, but also means household, or even family from which one is descended, or the people in a family.<br /><br />Confusingly, there is also a neuter diminutive of [size=150]οἰκος - [size=150]οικίον - which is used in the plural only giving [size=150]οἰκία. This one means specifically a dwelling.<br /><br />Additionally, there is [size=150]δῶμα, δώματα, which also has a tendency to refer to a room (the main room, in this case), so once again the plural can refer to a single house. Again, can mean family. The diminutive of this means "room" - [size=150]δωμάτιον. Finally, in Homer you can shorten this to a Homer Simpson-esque [size=150]δῶ!
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;

vinobrien
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Re:House, masculine or feminine?

Post by vinobrien »

I thought [size=150]δώματα had the sense of a mansion or a big house in Homer. Calypso invites Odysseus to stay in her [size=150]δώματα which, since it belongs to a [size=150]δια θεαων, I assumed was quite palatial. But you never can tell with the non-Olympian ones and she does complain to Hermes that he never comes to visit.<br /><br />Now, what word is used for Odysseus's home...

annis
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Re:House, masculine or feminine?

Post by annis »

I'd never noticed that before, but sure enough, Autenrieth gives "mansion" as one of the definitions for [size=150]δώματα.<br /><br />Then there's the set phrase [size=150])ολύμπια δώματ’ ἔχοντες for the gods, which implies a certain loftiness.<br /><br />I'll have to pay close attention to these words now while I read.
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;

aemilius
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Re:House, masculine or feminine?

Post by aemilius »

William, <br />thanks for the thorough explanation. It helps a lot.<br /><br />aemilius

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