Quite early in the processs of translating, I made the decision to transliterate and italicize a certain category of word used by Herodotus—namely, words with a blatant non-Greek origin. It is of course impossible to tell at what stage of familiarity any given word was. When did ‘bungalow’ stop being a word one had to italicize or surround with apostrophes and become a familiar part of the English language? At which stage of this process was baris or tiara for Herodotus’ audience? Both these words, and several others in the list, certainly became relatively well known in later Greek. However, all the words included in the list below are signalled by Herodotus himself, somewhere in the book—even if not on their first occurrence—as foreign words, and I take this to mean, in most cases, that the word would have struck his audience as somewhat alien. In the list below I include the meaning Herodotus himself assigns to each word, without having the expertise to know in all cases whether or not he is correct.
akinakes a type of Persian and Scythian sword (3.118, 128, 4.62, 70, 7.54, 67, 8.20); not a ‘scimitar’, which is both medieval and curved, whereas an akinakes was short and straight
angaros a mounted courier in Persia for carrying royal messages (3.126, cf. 8.98)
antakaios a type of invertebrate fish found in the Borysthenes River in Scythia (4.53)
arima the Scythian for ‘one’ (4.27)
artaba a Persian measure of about 55 litres (1.192); cf. the modern Egyptian ardeb
askhu a Scythian name for a kind of syrup they make (4.23); cf. the modern Kalmuck drink atschi
Asmakh the Egyptian for ‘those who stand to the left of the king’ (2.30). It is not clear what ancient Egyptian word Herodotus has in mind, but there is a similar word meaning ‘left’: see Lloyd, ad loc.
baris a kind of barge used on the Nile (2.41, 60, 96, 179)
battos a North African word for ‘king’ (4.155)
bekos the Phrygian word for ‘bread’ (2.2). Herodotus is perfectly correct about this: the word occurs in Phrygian inscriptions. See W.M. Calder, Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua, vii (Manchester, 1956), nos. 313, 454, 495
enareis Scythian hermaphrodites (1.105, 4.67); cf. Avestan a-nar, ‘not a man’
kalasiris an Egyptian undergarment of linen (2.81). It is not certain what Egyptian word Herodotus has in mind; certainly there was no known item of clothing with such a name (see Lloyd, ad loc.)
khampsa the ancient Egyptian word for ‘crocodile’ (2.69). Herodotus is very close: see Lloyd, ad loc.
kiki the ancient Egyptian word for castor oil (2.94). Herodotus is perfectly correct: see Lloyd, ad loc.
kurbasia a kind of Persian (5.49) and Scythian (7.64) turban-like head-dress, ending in a point
kyllestis an Egyptian word for a kind of barley loaf (2.77). Herodotus is reflecting an Egyptian word for a kind of unleavened bread: see Lloyd, ad loc.
ladanon the Arabian word for rock-rose resin (3.112)
lepidotos a kind of Egyptian fish regarded as sacred (2.72); further information on the fish in Lloyd, ad loc.
lotos the word was perfectly familiar to the Greeks since Homer’s time, and hence has not usually been italicized (2.92, 96, 4.177, 178), except that once, in a typical burst of erudition, Herodotus refers to the original Egyptian word (2.92). It is not, however, an Egyptian word
oior the Scythian word for ‘man’ (4.110)
orosangai the Persian word for the king’s benefactors (8.85). Various scholars have variously accounted for Herodotus’ word
paprax a kind of fish in Paeonia (5.16)
pata the Scythian word for ‘kill’ (4.110)
piromis the Egyptian for ‘man of rank’ (2.143); actually based on the Egyptian for ‘man’
pontikos the fruit tree that produces the fruit from which the Scythians make askhu (4.23); perhaps a type of cherry
rhadinake the Persian word for petroleum oil (6.119)
sagaris a kind of battleaxe in common use throughout the Persian empire and beyond (1.215, 4.5, 70, 7.64)
sigynna the Cyprian word for ‘spear’ (well attested), and (unattested) the Ligurian word for ‘retailer’ (5.9)
spaka the Median word for ‘dog’ (1.110); cf. e.g. the modern Persian aspaka, ‘dog’
spou the Scythian word for ‘eye’ (4.27)
tiara a kind of Persian headgear, not a turban (1.132, 3.12, 7.61, 8.120)
tilon a kind of fish in Paeonia (5.16)
tukta the Persian for ‘complete’ (9.110)
zegeris a kind of mouse found in North Africa (4.192), meaning ‘hill mouse’
zeira a kind of long coat worn by Arabians (7.69) and Thracians (7.75)