ἀλαζών

Ancient Greek

Etymology

It matches Thracian Ἀλαζών (Alazṓn) exactly, perhaps an appellative,^[1] or it may be a cultural loanword from Akkadian 𒀀𒇻𒍣𒉡 aluzinnu, 'boastful, clownish fraud, most times pretending or claiming to possess medical skills or knowledge.' From Sumerian 𒀩𒍪 alanzu, 'clown.' ^[2]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.laːz.dɔ̌ːn/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.laˈzon/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.laˈzon/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.laˈzon/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.laˈzon/

Noun

ᾰ̓λᾱζών • (ălāzṓn) m or f (genitive ᾰ̓λᾱζόνος); third declension

wanderer around the country, vagrant
(particularly of Sophists) charlatan, quack
- 519 BCE – 422 BCE, Cratinus, Collected Works 380
- 423 BCE, Aristophanes, The Clouds 102
- 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Charmides 173c
braggart, boaster
- 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Cyropaedia 2.2.12
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 4.1127a.21

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ / ἡ ᾰ̓λᾱζών; τοῦ / τῆς ᾰ̓λᾱζόνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ / ἡ ᾰ̓λᾱζών ho / hē ălāzṓn	τὼ ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε tṑ ălāzóne	οἱ / αἱ ᾰ̓λᾱζόνες hoi / hai ălāzónes
Genitive	τοῦ / τῆς ᾰ̓λᾱζόνος toû / tês ălāzónos	τοῖν ᾰ̓λᾱζόνοιν toîn ălāzónoin	τῶν ᾰ̓λᾱζόνων tôn ălāzónōn
Dative	τῷ / τῇ ᾰ̓λᾱζόνῐ tōî / tēî ălāzónĭ	τοῖν ᾰ̓λᾱζόνοιν toîn ălāzónoin	τοῖς / ταῖς ᾰ̓λᾱζόσῐ / ᾰ̓λᾱζόσῐν toîs / taîs ălāzósĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν / τὴν ᾰ̓λᾱζόνᾰ tòn / tḕn ălāzónă	τὼ ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε tṑ ălāzóne	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓λᾱζόνᾰς toùs / tā̀s ălāzónăs
Vocative	ᾰ̓λᾱζών ălāzṓn	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε ălāzóne	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνες ălāzónes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Adjective

ᾰ̓λᾱζών • (ălāzṓn) m or f (neuter ᾰ̓λᾱζών); third declension

boastful, pretentious

Inflection

Third declension of ᾰ̓λᾱζών; ᾰ̓λᾱζόν (Attic)

Number	Singular		Dual		Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ᾰ̓λᾱζών ălāzṓn	ᾰ̓λᾱζόν ălāzón	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε ălāzóne	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε ălāzóne	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνες ălāzónes	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνᾰ ălāzónă
Genitive	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνος ălāzónos	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνος ălāzónos	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνοιν ălāzónoin	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνοιν ălāzónoin	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνων ălāzónōn	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνων ălāzónōn
Dative	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνῐ ălāzónĭ	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνῐ ălāzónĭ	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνοιν ălāzónoin	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνοιν ălāzónoin	ᾰ̓λᾱζόσῐ / ᾰ̓λᾱζόσῐν ălāzósĭ(n)	ᾰ̓λᾱζόσῐ / ᾰ̓λᾱζόσῐν ălāzósĭ(n)
Accusative	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνᾰ ălāzónă	ᾰ̓λᾱζόν ălāzón	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε ălāzóne	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε ălāzóne	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνᾰς ălāzónăs	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνᾰ ălāzónă
Vocative	ᾰ̓λᾱζών ălāzṓn	ᾰ̓λᾱζόν ălāzón	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε ălāzóne	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνε ălāzóne	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνες ălāzónes	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνᾰ ălāzónă
Derived forms	Adverb		Comparative		Superlative
Derived forms	ᾰ̓λᾱζόνως ălāzónōs		ᾰ̓λᾱζονέστερος ălāzonésteros		ᾰ̓λᾱζονέστᾰτος ălāzonéstătos
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

Old Latin: alāzōn

References

“ἀλαζών”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἀλαζών”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
ἀλαζών in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἀλαζών in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
G213 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἀλαζών”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 60
^ Rumor, Maddalena "Aluzinnu Versus ἀλαζών: On the Use of Medical Terminology in the Babylonian and Greek Comic Traditions." In AOAT 436 (2016): 587–603.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἀλαζών”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume I, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 60

[2] Rumor, Maddalena "Aluzinnu Versus ἀλαζών: On the Use of Medical Terminology in the Babylonian and Greek Comic Traditions." In AOAT 436 (2016): 587–603.

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