Λητώ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• Λᾱ́των (Lā́tōn) — Aeolic
• Λᾱτώ (Lātṓ), Λητόᾱ (Lētóā) — Doric

Etymology

In 20th-century sources Leto is traditionally derived from Lycian lada, "wife", as her earliest cult was centered in Lycia. Lycian lada may also be the origin of the Greek name Λήδα (Lḗda, “Leda”). Other scholars (Paul Kretschmer, Erich Bethe, Pierre Chantraine and R. S. P. Beekes) have suggested a Pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /lɛː.tɔ̌ː/ → /liˈto/ → /liˈto/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /lɛː.tɔ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /le̝ˈto/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /liˈto/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /liˈto/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /liˈto/

Proper noun

Λητώ • (Lētṓ) f (genitive Λητοῦς); third declension

1. Leto

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ Λητώ; τῆς Λητοῦς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Λητώ hē Lētṓ
Genitive	τῆς Λητοῦς tês Lētoûs
Dative	τῇ Λητοῖ têi Lētoî
Accusative	τὴν Λητώ tḕn Lētṓ
Vocative	Λητοῖ Lētoî
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Λητῷος (Lētôios)

Descendants

• English: Leto
• Greek: Λητώ (Litó)
• Latin: Latona (via Λατώ (Latṓ))

References

• “Λητώ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Λητώ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “Λητώ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• Λητώ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,015

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Λητώ (Lētṓ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /liˈto/
• Hyphenation: Λη‧τώ

Proper noun

Λητώ • (Litó) f

1. (Greek mythology) Leto (Titan goddess, mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus)

Declension

  Λητώ

case     \     number	singular
nominative	Λητώ •
genitive	Λητώς •
accusative	Λητώ •
vocative	Λητώ •
Less common genitive: Λητούς