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Does anyone have a source for Alexis meaning "helper, defender"? It appears to be derived from Ancient Greek ἄλεξις, which the Liddle-Scott-Jones Online Dictionary defines as the abstract noun "help" (https://lsj.gr/wiki/%E1%BC%84%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%B9%CF%82). This definition makes more sense to me - although I'm not an expert on Ancient Greek, it looks like ἀλέξω + -σῐς, which forms abstract nouns of action, process, or result (and is not an agentive suffix) according to Herbert Weir Smythe (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0007:smythp=840).
If I'm wrong about this, please let me know!
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." - Terry Pratchett
If I'm wrong about this, please let me know!
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." - Terry Pratchett
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My guess is this:
The root is ἀλεκ- (as in ἀλέξω, ἀλκή ...).
If the ending is -σις, the word would refer to an activity and its result, like you said.
But since the names Ἄλεξις and Ἀλέξιος were used somewhat synonymously, the ending could be -ιος (instead of -σις), which would refer to the descent and origin of a person. So if the origin is "helping", "defending", the person might be a "defender", "helper". This is, how I'd explain the meaning given by this site.
The root is ἀλεκ- (as in ἀλέξω, ἀλκή ...).
If the ending is -σις, the word would refer to an activity and its result, like you said.
But since the names Ἄλεξις and Ἀλέξιος were used somewhat synonymously, the ending could be -ιος (instead of -σις), which would refer to the descent and origin of a person. So if the origin is "helping", "defending", the person might be a "defender", "helper". This is, how I'd explain the meaning given by this site.
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I see. Thank you!
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