Where does “λῃστής” come from?

λῃστής (Ancient Greek) comes from Ancient Greek λεία, from Ancient Greek λεῖος, from Ancient Greek λεῖϝος, from Proto-Indo-European leh₁y-u- — smooth.

λῃστής (Ancient Greek): robber, bandit; pirate, buccaneer; revolutionary,...

Definitions

  1. robber, bandit; pirate, buccaneer; revolutionary,...

Ancestry of “λῃστής”, step by step

λῃστής traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Ancient Greek λεία

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekλείαbooty, plunder; the act of plunder; stolen...
2Ancient Greekλεῖοςsmooth to the touch; smooth, plain, not...
3Ancient Greekλεῖϝος
4Proto-Indo-Europeanleh₁y-u-smooth

via Ancient Greek λῄζομαι

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekλῄζομαι

Words derived from “λῃστής

Every word from Proto-Indo-European leh₁y-u-Every word from Ancient Greek λεῖϝοςEvery word from Ancient Greek λεῖος