νεωκόρος

Greek (Liddell-Scott)

νεωκόρος: ὁ, ὁ φύλαξ ναοῦ καὶ ἐπιμελητής, Λατ. aedituus, ἐθεωρεῖτο δὲ ὡς ἱερὸν πρόσωπον καὶ τιμῆς ἄξιον, ν. γίγνεσθαι τοῖς θεοῖς Πλάτ. Νόμ. 759Α· ἱερέας τε καὶ ν. αὐτόθι 953Α. παρὰ Μεγαβύζῳ τῷ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ν. Ξεν. Ἀν. 5. 3, 6· βωμοῖο ν. Ἀνθ. Π. 11. 324· ― ποιητ. νηοκόρος αὐτόθι 9. 22· ναοκόρος παρ’ Ἡσυχ. ΙΙ. ἐπώνυμον ἀπαντῶν ἐν ἐπιγραφαῖς καὶ ἐπὶ νομισμάτων τῶν Ἀσιατικῶν πόλεων κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους τῶν Ρωμαίων αὐτοκρατόρων καὶ ἀποδιδόμενον εἰς τὰς πόλεις ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνεγέρσει ναοῦ εἰς τὴν προστάτιδα αὐτῶν θεότητα ἢ εἰς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα οἷον ἡ Ἔφεσος, ν. Ἀρτέμιδος Πράξ. Ἀποστ. ιθ΄, 35, πρβλ. Tacit. Ann. 4. 55, Eckhel Doctr. Numm. 4. σ. 288 κ. ἑξ.· ὡσαύτως, Ἐφεσίων πόλεως δὶς νεωκόρου τῶν Σεβαστῶν Συλλ. Ἐπιγρ. 2968, πρβλ. 2977· τρὶς ν. τῶν Σεβαστῶν αὐτόθι 2972· οὕτως ἐπὶ τῆς Σμύρνης, κτλ.· νεωκόρος ὡσαύτως εὕρηται μόνον ἄνευ γενικῆς ἐν 2022-23, 2189, κ.ἀλλ. (Κοινῶς ἐτυμολογεῖται ἐκ τοῦ κορέω, verro, ὡς εἰ ἡ πρώτη σημασία ἦν, ὁ σαρώνων τὸν ναόν· ἀλλ’ οὐδὲν ἴχνος τῆς σημασίας ταύτης ὑπάρχει μέχρι τοῦ Φίλωνος 2. 236, Ἡσύχ.· ἐνῷ ὁ Σουΐδ. ἑρμηνεύει τὴν λέξιν: «ὁ τὸν νεὼν κοσμῶν..., ἀλλ’ οὐχὶ ὁ σαίρων», καὶ ὁ Κούρτ. νομίζει ὅτι ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ -κόρος εἶναι ΚΟΡ = ΚΟΛ, πρβλ. Λατ. curo, colo, καὶ ἴδε ἐν λ. αἰγικορεῖς, βουκόλος, αἰπόλος, Λλ. Ι).

French (Bailly abrégé)

ου (ὁ, ἡ)
gardien d’un temple.
Étymologie: νέως, κορέω.

English (Strong)

from a form of ναός and koreo (to sweep); a temple-servant, i.e. (by implication) a votary: worshipper.

English (Thayer)

νεωκορου, ὁ, ἡ (νεώς or ναός, and κορέω to sweep; (questioned by some; a hint of this derivation is found in Philo de sacerd. honor. § 6 (cf. νεωκορία, de somniis 2,42), and Hesychius (under the word) defines the word ὁ τόν ναόν κόσμων. κόρειν γάρ τό σαίρειν ἔλεγον (cf. under the word σηκοκόρος; so Etym. Magn. 407,27, cf. under the word νεωκόρος); yet Suidas under the word κόρη, p. 2157c. says νεωκόρος οὐχ ὁ Σαρών τοῦ νεωκορου ἀλλ' ὁ ἐπιμελουμενος αὐτοῦ (cf. under the words, νεωκόρος, σηκοκόρος); hence, some connect the last half with root κορ, κολ, cf. Latin curo, colo));
1. properly, one who sweeps and cleans a temple.
2. one who has charge of a temple, to keep and adorn it, a sacristan: Xenophon, an. 5,3, 6; Plato, legg. 6, p. 759a.
3. the worshipper of a deity (οὕς i. e. the Israelites ὁ Θεός ἑαυτῷ νεωκορους ἦγεν through the wilderness, Josephus, b. j. 5,9, 4); as appears from coins still extant, it was an honorary title (temple-keeper or temple-warden (cf. 2above)) of certain cities, especially of Asia Minor, in which the special worship of some deity or even of some deified human ruler had been established (cf. Stephanus, Thesaurus, v., p. 1472 f; (cf. B. D., under the word worshipper)); so νεωκόρος ... τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος, of Ephesus, Lightfoot in Contemp. Rev. for 1878, p. 294 f; Wood, Discoveries at Ephesus (Lond. 1877), Appendix, passim).