sídēros
Unclear and debated:[1]
- One view compares it with Latin sīdus (“constellation, meteorite”), with this possibly related to Proto-Indo-European *sweyd- (“to sweat”), whence Latin sūdor(“sweat, moisture”), Ancient Greek ἱδρώς (hidrṓs, “sweat, perspiration”), English sweat.
- One theory connects the word to words for "silver", like Lithuanian sidãbras and, by proxy, English silver.
- Another theory compares it with Udi zido (“iron”), indicating a Northeast Caucasian loanword. This is quite feasible, as the Greeks likely first learned of iron from Asia Minor.
- Finally, the word is very likely of Pre-Greek origin given its semantics, which has been compared with Ancient Greek σίδη (sídē, “pomegranate”), linked to the reconstruction *sida (“red”) thereby giving the meaning of σίδηρος (sídēros) as "red metal" (perhaps in relation to its red oxide ores and minerals).
σῐ́δηρος • (sídēros) m (genitive σῐδήρου); second declension