Etymology and History
The English name Ptolemy comes from the Ancient Greek name Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaios), "warlike" or "son of war". He renders the meaning of the name to be an adjective from πτόλεμος (ptólemos), explained as a Homeric form of πόλεμος (pólemos), "war". A nephew of Antigonus I was called Polemaeus, the normal form of the adjective. Ptolemaios is first attested in Homer's Iliad and is the name of an Achaean warrior, son of Piraeus, father of Eurymedon.
The name Ptolemaios varied over the years from its roots in Ancient Greece, appearing in different languages in various forms and spellings. The original form, and some of the variants, are listed here in the languages relevant to the history of the name.
| Greek Πτολεμαῖος (Ptolemaîos) | ||||||||
| Latin Ptolemaeus German Ptolemäus or Ptolemaios Italian Tolomeo English Ptolemy |
Egyptian ptwȝlmys
Hebrew and Aramaic Talmai Arabic Batlemos |
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The name Ptolemy spread from its Macedonian origins to enter other languages in the Middle and Near East during the Hellenisation that followed the conquest of the known world by Alexander the Great.
The Aramaic name Bar Talmai (Greek Bartolomaios and English Bartholomew) may be related. Alternatively, it may have a Hebrew derivation.
Ptolemais is formed from this name by the Greek feminine adjectival ending -i(d)s (found also in Iliad, Aeneid).
Read more about this topic: Ptolemy (disambiguation)
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