κύριος

See also: Κύριος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• κῡ́ρις (kū́ris), κῦρις (kûris) — Koine
• κύρης (kúrēs) — Byzantine
• κῦρρος (kûrrhos) — Thessalian

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *kúrios, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- (“to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail”). By surface analysis, κῦρος (kûros, “supremacy”) +‎ -ιος (-ios, adjective suffix).

Cognate with κύω (kúō), Latin cumulus, cavus, Welsh cawr.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ky̌ː.ri.os/ → /ˈcy.ri.os/ → /ˈci.ri.os/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ky̌ː.ri.os/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈky.ri.os/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈcy.ri.os/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈcy.ri.os/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈci.ri.os/

Adjective

κῡ́ρῐος • (kū́rios) m (feminine κῡρῐ́ᾱ, neuter κῡ́ρῐον); first/second declension

1. (of people) ruling, governing, having power
2. (of things) decisive, critical, authorized, valid, legal, entitled
3. (of times) fixed, set, appointed
4. (of language) literal
5. main, major, primary, principal

Declension

First and second declension of κῡ́ρῐος; κῡρῐ́ᾱ; κῡ́ρῐον (Attic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		κῡ́ρῐος kū́rios	κῡρῐ́ᾱ kūríā	κῡ́ρῐον kū́rion		κῡρῐ́ω kūríō	κῡρῐ́ᾱ kūríā	κῡρῐ́ω kūríō		κῡ́ρῐοι kū́rioi	κῡ́ρῐαι kū́riai	κῡ́ρῐᾰ kū́ria
Genitive		κῡρῐ́ου kūríou	κῡρῐ́ᾱς kūríās	κῡρῐ́ου kūríou		κῡρῐ́οιν kūríoin	κῡρῐ́αιν kūríain	κῡρῐ́οιν kūríoin		κῡρῐ́ων kūríōn	κῡρῐ́ων kūríōn	κῡρῐ́ων kūríōn
Dative		κῡρῐ́ῳ kūríōi	κῡρῐ́ᾳ kūríāi	κῡρῐ́ῳ kūríōi		κῡρῐ́οιν kūríoin	κῡρῐ́αιν kūríain	κῡρῐ́οιν kūríoin		κῡρῐ́οις kūríois	κῡρῐ́αις kūríais	κῡρῐ́οις kūríois
Accusative		κῡ́ρῐον kū́rion	κῡρῐ́ᾱν kūríān	κῡ́ρῐον kū́rion		κῡρῐ́ω kūríō	κῡρῐ́ᾱ kūríā	κῡρῐ́ω kūríō		κῡρῐ́ους kūríous	κῡρῐ́ᾱς kūríās	κῡ́ρῐᾰ kū́ria
Vocative		κῡ́ρῐε kū́rie	κῡρῐ́ᾱ kūríā	κῡ́ρῐον kū́rion		κῡρῐ́ω kūríō	κῡρῐ́ᾱ kūríā	κῡρῐ́ω kūríō		κῡ́ρῐοι kū́rioi	κῡ́ρῐαι kū́riai	κῡ́ρῐᾰ kū́ria
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		κῡρῐ́ως kūríōs				κῡρῐώτερος kūriṓteros				κῡρῐώτᾰτος kūriṓtatos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Noun

κῡ́ριος • (kū́rios) m (genitive κῡρίου); second declension

1. (gen.) lord, master, guardian, ruler, owner
2. (Koine, direct address) "Sir"
3. (Septuagint, New Testament) God (i.e., the God of Israel)

Usage notes

1. In the Septuagint, κύριος is regularly used to translate יהוה (a.k.a. the Tetragrammaton), as well as אֲדׂנָי.
2. During the Koine period, the nominative became more regular for direct address (as opposed to just the vocative).
3. Patristic usage expanded the use of κύριος to address the Holy Spirit as well.

Declension

Second declension of ὁ κῡ́ρῐος; τοῦ κῡρῐ́ου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ κῡ́ρῐος ho kū́rios	τὼ κῡρῐ́ω tṑ kūríō	οἱ κῡ́ρῐοι hoi kū́rioi
Genitive	τοῦ κῡρῐ́ου toû kūríou	τοῖν κῡρῐ́οιν toîn kūríoin	τῶν κῡρῐ́ων tôn kūríōn
Dative	τῷ κῡρῐ́ῳ tôi kūríōi	τοῖν κῡρῐ́οιν toîn kūríoin	τοῖς κῡρῐ́οις toîs kūríois
Accusative	τὸν κῡ́ρῐον tòn kū́rion	τὼ κῡρῐ́ω tṑ kūríō	τοὺς κῡρῐ́ους toùs kūríous
Vocative	κῡ́ρῐε kū́rie	κῡρῐ́ω kūríō	κῡ́ρῐοι kū́rioi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Κύριος (Kúrios)
• κῡριακός (kūriakós)
  • κῡριακόν (kūriakón)
• κῡριεύω (kūrieúō)
• κῡριολεξία (kūriolexía)
• κῡριολογία (kūriología)
• κῡρίως (kūríōs)

Descendants

• Greek: κύριος (kýrios)
• ⇒ Byzantine Greek: κῦρ (kûr, “sir, lord”)
  • Greek: κυρ (kyr)
  • → Bulgarian: кир (kir)
  • → Middle Armenian: կիւռ (kiwṙ), կիռ (kiṙ)
  • → Old Church Slavonic: киръ (kirŭ), кѵръ (kürŭ)
  • → Romanian: chir
  • → Serbo-Croatian: kȋr / ки̑р
• Mariupol Greek: ки́риос (kírios)
• Yevanic: קִירִיאוּ (kiri'u)
• → Coptic: ⲕⲩⲣⲟⲥ (kuros), ⲕⲏⲣⲟⲥ (kēros) — Sahidic
• → Ecclesiastical Latin: Kyrie
  • → English: kyrie
• → Portuguese: cirio-
• →⇒ English: kyriarchy

Further reading

• Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 592
• “κύριος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “κύριος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• κύριος 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
• “κύριος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2962 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • absolute idem, page 4.
  • all-powerful idem, page 22.
  • almighty idem, page 25.
  • appoint idem, page 36.
  • arbiter idem, page 38.
  • authorised idem, page 53.
  • authoritative idem, page 53.
  • authority idem, page 53.
  • binding idem, page 79.
  • cardinal idem, page 113.
  • chief idem, page 129.
  • competent idem, page 151.
  • decisive idem, page 201.
  • dominant idem, page 247.
  • effective idem, page 262.
  • entitle idem, page 278.
  • force idem, page 335.
  • foremost idem, page 336.
  • fundamental idem, page 349.
  • guardian idem, page 377.
  • head idem, page 389.
  • imperative idem, page 420.
  • imperious idem, page 420.
  • influence idem, page 439.
  • influential idem, page 439.
  • king idem, page 469.
  • leading idem, page 482.
  • lord idem, page 500.
  • main idem, page 508.
  • master idem, page 517.
  • official idem, page 571.
  • paramount idem, page 592.
  • plenary idem, page 620.
  • possessed idem, page 628.
  • prince idem, page 641.
  • principal idem, page 641.
  • ruler idem, page 726.
  • ruling idem, page 726.
  • sovereign idem, page 797.
  • staple idem, page 811.
  • supreme idem, page 842.
  • suzerain idem, page 846.
  • unabolished idem, page 906.
  • unalterable idem, page 906.
  • unrepealed idem, page 929.
  • valid idem, page 943.
• κύρης in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften

Greek

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κύριος (kúrios, “who has power”) (noun and adjective).

For the "mister (term of address)" sense, from Koine Greek Κύριος (Kúrios), and a semantic loan from French monsieur or Italian signore.

Compare Mariupol Greek ки́риос (kírios).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈci.ɾi.os/
• Hyphenation: κύ‧ρι‧ος

Noun

κύριος • (kýrios) m (plural κύριοι, feminine κυρία)

1. mister (title conferred on an adult male)
2. master (someone who has control over something or someone)
3. sir (an address to any male)

   formal spelling: Κύριος (Kýrios)

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	κύριος (kýrios)	κύριοι (kýrioi)
genitive	κυρίου (kyríou)	κυρίων (kyríon)
accusative	κύριο (kýrio)	κυρίους (kyríous)
vocative	κύριε (kýrie)	κύριοι (kýrioi)

Synonyms

• (abbreviation) κ. (k.), plural: κ.κ. (k.k.)
• (abbreviation) κος (kos) / Κος (Kos)

Related terms

• Κύριος m (Kýrios, “Lord”) (Christianity)
• κυρία f (kyría, “madam”)
• Κυριακή f (Kyriakí, “Sunday”)
• σαββατοκύριακο n (savvatokýriako, “weekend”)

See also

• δεσποινίς f (despoinís, “miss”)

Adjective

κύριος • (kýrios) m (feminine κύρια, neuter κύριο)

1. main, principal, most important

   κύριο άρθρο εφημερίδας ― kýrio árthro efimerídas ― main article of a newspaper

Declension

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	κύριος (kýrios)	κύρια (kýria)	κύριο (kýrio)		κύριοι (kýrioi)	κύριες (kýries)	κύρια (kýria)
genitive	κύριου (kýriou)	κύριας (kýrias)	κύριου (kýriou)		κύριων (kýrion)	κύριων (kýrion)	κύριων (kýrion)
accusative	κύριο (kýrio)	κύρια (kýria)	κύριο (kýrio)		κύριους (kýrious)	κύριες (kýries)	κύρια (kýria)
vocative	κύριε (kýrie)	κύρια (kýria)	κύριο (kýrio)		κύριοι (kýrioi)	κύριες (kýries)	κύρια (kýria)

Derivations:
Comparative: πιο + positive forms (e.g. πιο κύριος, etc.)
Relative superlative: definite article + πιο + positive forms (e.g. ο πιο κύριος, etc.)

Degrees of comparison by suffixation

comparative	singular			plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	κυριότερος (kyrióteros)	κυριότερη (kyrióteri)	κυριότερο (kyriótero)	κυριότεροι (kyrióteroi)	κυριότερες (kyrióteres)	κυριότερα (kyriótera)
genitive	κυριότερου (kyrióterou)	κυριότερης (kyrióteris)	κυριότερου (kyrióterou)	κυριότερων (kyrióteron)	κυριότερων (kyrióteron)	κυριότερων (kyrióteron)
accusative	κυριότερο (kyriótero)	κυριότερη (kyrióteri)	κυριότερο (kyriótero)	κυριότερους (kyrióterous)	κυριότερες (kyrióteres)	κυριότερα (kyriótera)
vocative	κυριότερε (kyriótere)	κυριότερη (kyrióteri)	κυριότερο (kyriótero)	κυριότεροι (kyrióteroi)	κυριότερες (kyrióteres)	κυριότερα (kyriótera)
derivations	relative superlative: ο + comparative forms (eg "ο κυριότερος", etc)
Absolute superlative	singular			plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	κυριότατος (kyriótatos)	κυριότατη (kyriótati)	κυριότατο (kyriótato)	κυριότατοι (kyriótatoi)	κυριότατες (kyriótates)	κυριότατα (kyriótata)
genitive	κυριότατου (kyriótatou)	κυριότατης (kyriótatis)	κυριότατου (kyriótatou)	κυριότατων (kyriótaton)	κυριότατων (kyriótaton)	κυριότατων (kyriótaton)
accusative	κυριότατο (kyriótato)	κυριότατη (kyriótati)	κυριότατο (kyriótato)	κυριότατους (kyriótatous)	κυριότατες (kyriótates)	κυριότατα (kyriótata)
vocative	κυριότατε (kyriótate)	κυριότατη (kyriótati)	κυριότατο (kyriótato)	κυριότατοι (kyriótatoi)	κυριότατες (kyriótates)	κυριότατα (kyriótata)

Derived terms

• κύρια σελίδα f (kýria selída, “home page”)
• κύρια (kýria, “mainly”, adverb)

Related terms

• κυρίως (kyríos, “mainly”, adverb)

Further reading

• κύριος, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language