A Native Proto-Indo-European Etymology for Artemis: The h2rtk- + -mo- + -is Double-Suffix Stack

The etymology of the Greek goddess name Artemis (Mycenaean a-te-mi-to / a-ti-mi-te) remains highly contested, with mainstream scholarship frequently defaulting to an un-etymologizable Pre-Greek substrate loanword. This paper presents a novel, internally consistent native Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etymology. We demonstrate that Artemis can be reverse-engineered using standard Indo-European suffix-stacking morphology. By compounding the PIE zoonym for "bear" (h2rtkos) with a Caland-associated property suffix (-mo-) and a primary individualizing feminine animate agent suffix (-is), we reconstruct the intermediate form h2rtk-m-is. Through regular rules of vocalic syncope, phonetic cluster simplification (-tkm- to -tm-), and native Greek epenthesis, this framework provides an elegant phonetic and semantic pipeline: "The specific female individual embodying the characteristic aspect of the bear."

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-10-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23811266
Primary Topic
Linguistics and language evolution
Type
preprint
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preprint

A Native Proto-Indo-European Etymology for Artemis: The h2rtk- + -mo- + -is Double-Suffix Stack

Brandon Eli Cornelison
10 links
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Linguistics and language evolution
preprint

A Native Proto-Indo-European Etymology for Artemis: The h2rtk- + -mo- + -is Double-Suffix Stack

Brandon Eli Cornelison
preprint en

Abstract

The etymology of the Greek goddess name Artemis (Mycenaean a-te-mi-to / a-ti-mi-te) remains highly contested, with mainstream scholarship frequently defaulting to an un-etymologizable Pre-Greek substrate loanword. This paper presents a novel, internally consistent native Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etymology. We demonstrate that Artemis can be reverse-engineered using standard Indo-European suffix-stacking morphology. By compounding the PIE zoonym for "bear" (h2rtkos) with a Caland-associated property suffix (-mo-) and a primary individualizing feminine animate agent suffix (-is), we reconstruct the intermediate form h2rtk-m-is. Through regular rules of vocalic syncope, phonetic cluster simplification (-tkm- to -tm-), and native Greek epenthesis, this framework provides an elegant phonetic and semantic pipeline: "The specific female individual embodying the characteristic aspect of the bear."

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Linguistics and language evolution
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