Category: Language

Etymology of the 100 most famous ancient Macedonian names

1. ALEXANDROS m Ancient Greek (ALEXANDER Latinized) Pronounced: al-eg-ZAN-dur From the Greek name Alexandros, which meant ‘defending men’ from Greek alexein ‘to defend, protect, help’ and aner ‘man’ (genitive andros). Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, is the most famous bearer of this name. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, Persia, […]

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Ancient Macedonian language - Hoffman

Some years back,a German linguist by the name Otto Hoffman wrote a book with the title “Makedonians, their language and their Ethnicity“. Hoffman analyzed the paradoxical or idiomatic words (calling them languages),which past grammaticals, lexicographers and more in general everyone engaged around the Hellenic language had noted them as “worthy to be analyzed” in Makedonia. To begin with, all those […]

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Ancient Macedonian language - Hoffmann

Some years back, a German linguist by the name Otto Hoffmann wrote a book with the title “Makedonians, their language and their Ethnicity“. Hoffman analyzed the paradoxical or idiomatic words (calling them languages),which past grammaticals, lexicographers and more in general everyone engaged around the Hellenic language had noted them as “worthy to be analyzed” in Makedonia. To begin with, all […]

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Ancient Macedonian Names

KINGS OF MACEDON ALEXANDROS m Ancient Greek (ALEXANDER Latinized) Pronounced: al-eg-ZAN-dur From the Greek name Alexandros, which meant ‘defending men’ from Greek alexein ‘to defend, protect, help’ and aner ‘man’ (genitive andros). Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, is the most famous bearer of this name. In the 4th century BC he built a huge empire out of Greece, Egypt, […]

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The Language of ancient Macedonians

The Language of ancient Macedonians

What language did these “Macedones” speak? The name itself is Greek in root and in ethnic termination. It probably means ‘highlanders,’ and it is comparable to Greek tribal names such as ‘Orestai’ amd ‘Oreitai,’ meaning ‘mountain-men.’ A reputedly earlier variant, ‘Maketai,’ has the same root, which means ‘high,’ as in the Greek adjective ‘makednos’ or the noun ‘mekos.’ The genealogy […]

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