ἀμάρα <Anatolian?; Archaic period>
👉 ἀμάρα, Ionian ἀμάρη [⏑⏑-] f. – ‘trench, ditch, irrigation channel’ (Hom., Il. 21.259; A.R. 3.1392; Theocr. 27.53; cf. Sapph. 174; etc.); there are some derivations, but attested only in late antiquity, e.g. ἀμαρεύω ‘to flow off’ (Aristaenet. 1.17; Eust., Comm. ad Hom. Od. vol. I, p. 315.6; cf. Hsch. α 3446: ἀμαρεύων· διοδεύων).
🅔Probably an Anatolian borrowing. A similar word occurs only in Hittite, i.e. amiyara- ‘ditch, channel’. However, the discrepancy between Greek -α- and Hittite -iya- in the middle of the words is remarkable; perhaps, the foreign word came to Greek from an Anatolian (or non-Anatolian?) language, in which it had a slightly different form. Cf. other hypotheses: 1. a native word related to ἄμη f. ‘shovel’, διαμάω ‘to cut through’, ἐξαμάω ‘to mow, reap out’ (as well as to Old Church Slavonic jama ‘hole, pit’); 2. a connection with Albanian amë ‘source, river-bed’ (and some river names beginning with Ama-); 3. from Egyptian mr ‘canal, channel, ditch; pond, lake; harbour etc.’; cf. Egyptian mry.t ‘harbour, riverbank’, Demotic mr(.t) ‘id.’, Coptic ⲙⲣⲱ (S, A2), ⲉⲙⲡⲣⲱ (S), ⲉⲙⲃⲣⲱ (B), ⲉⲙⲣⲱ (B) ‘harbour, landing stage (on sea or river)’.
📖 Data: HW2: I, 67. Ref.: Carruba 1965: 558; GEW: I, 86; HED: I, 48; Laroche 1973: XiX; Neumann 1961: 91f.; cf. EDG: 82; HEG: I, 22; Kuiper 1995: 73-75; Simon 2018: 383f.; Silvestri 1975: 402-405; Solmsen 1909: 194-196.