γαστήρ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Traditionally derived from a dissimilation of an unattested earlier *γρᾰστήρ (*grastḗr, “devourer”), from γρᾰ́ω (gráō, “to gnaw, eat”) ‎ -τήρ (-tḗr, agent noun suffix). If so, Sanskrit ग्रस्तर् (grastar, “(astronomy) eclipser (originally "devourer")”) would be an exact cognate; for a semantic parallel to the Sanskrit term, compare Chinese 蝕／蚀 (shí, “to corrode, eclipse”), which is derived from 食 (shí, “to eat”).

However, Beekes is skeptical of the semantics (it is somewhat of a stretch to consider the belly as an "eater"), and tentatively prefers a derivation from *gnt-tēr, with *-tt- > -st-, comparing γέντα (génta, “intestines”) (which itself is of unclear origin).^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɡas.tɛ̌ːr/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɡasˈte̝r/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɣasˈtir/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ɣasˈtir/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ɣasˈtir/

Noun

γᾰστήρ • (gastḗr) f (genitive γᾰστέρος or γᾰστρός); third declension

paunch, belly, hollow, wide part
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 13.372:
  […]· οὐδ᾽ ἤρκεσε θώρηξ χάλκεος, ὃν φορέεσκε, μέσῃ δ᾽ ἐν γαστέρι πῆξε.
1. belly (for craving food); gluttony
  - 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 6.133:
    […]· κέλεται δέ ἑ γαστὴρ μήλων πειρήσοντα καὶ ἐς πυκινὸν δόμον ἐλθεῖν· […]
    […]; kéletai dé he gastḕr mḗlōn peirḗsonta kaì es pukinòn dómon eltheîn; […]
  - 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Theogony 26:
    […]· ποιμένες ἄγραυλοι, κάκ᾽ ἐλέγχεα, γαστέρες οἶον, ἴδμεν ψεύδεα πολλὰ λέγειν ἐτύμοισιν ὁμοῖα, […]
2. sausage, haggis
  - 423 BCE, Aristophanes, The Clouds 409:
    ὀπτῶν γαστέρα τοῖς συγγένεσιν κᾆτ᾿ οὐκ ἔσχων ἀμελήσας, […]
(anatomy) womb
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.58:
  τῶν μή τις ὑπεκφύγοι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον χεῖράς θ’ ἡμετέρας, μηδ’ ὅν τινα γαστέρι μήτηρ κοῦρον ἐόντα φέροι, μηδ’ ὃς φύγοι, […]
  tôn mḗ tis hupekphúgoi aipùn ólethron kheîrás th’ hēmetéras, mēd’ hón tina gastéri mḗtēr koûron eónta phéroi, mēd’ hòs phúgoi, […]
- 6th century BC, Theognis of Megara, Elegies 305:
  Τοὶ κακοὶ οὐ πάντες κακοὶ ἐκ γαστρὸς γεγόνασιν, […]
  Toì kakoì ou pántes kakoì ek gastròs gegónasin, […]

Usage notes

The root of γᾰστήρ (gastḗr) contains an ε (e) between τ (t) and ρ (r) which is often syncopated, leading to alternative forms such as genitive singular γᾰστέρος (gastéros) and γᾰστρός (gastrós), dative singular γᾰστέρῐ (gastéri) and γᾰστρῐ́ (gastrí), dative plural γᾰστῆρσῐ (gastêrsi) and γᾰστρᾰ́σῐ (gastrási). The syncopated form is generally more common in forms with long suffixes, such as the aforementioned. The inflection table below lists the more common forms.

Inflection

Irregular declension of ἡ γᾰστήρ; τῆς γᾰστέρος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ γᾰστήρ hē gastḗr	τὼ γᾰστέρε tṑ gastére	αἱ γᾰστέρες hai gastéres
Genitive	τῆς γᾰστέρος / γᾰστρός tês gastéros / gastrós	τοῖν γᾰστέροιν toîn gastéroin	τῶν γᾰστέρων tôn gastérōn
Dative	τῇ γᾰστέρῐ / γᾰστρῐ́ têi gastéri / gastrí	τοῖν γᾰστέροιν toîn gastéroin	ταῖς γᾰστῆρσῐ / γᾰστῆρσῐν / γᾰστρᾰ́σῐ / γᾰστρᾰ́σῐν taîs gastêrsi(n) / gastrási(n)
Accusative	τὴν γᾰστέρᾰ tḕn gastéra	τὼ γᾰστέρε tṑ gastére	τᾱ̀ς γᾰστέρᾰς tā̀s gastéras
Vocative	γᾰστήρ gastḗr	γᾰστέρε gastére	γᾰστέρες gastéres
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Descendants

γᾰστήρ

⇒ Catalan: gastro-
→ English: gaster, ⇒ gastro-
⇒ French: gastro-
⇒ German: gastro-
⇒ Italian: gastro-
→ Latin: gaster
⇒ Portuguese: gastro-
⇒ Spanish: gastro-

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “γαστήρ”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 262

“γαστήρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“γαστήρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“γαστήρ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
γαστήρ 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
γαστήρ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
γαστήρ in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
“γαστήρ”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G1064 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.
- appetite idem, page 35.
- belly idem, page 72.
- maw idem, page 518.
- paunch idem, page 599.
- stomach idem, page 819.
- womb idem, page 987.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “γαστήρ”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 262

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