Pre Greek

Linguists identify roughly 1,000 pre-Greek words with no Indo-European origin

Researchers have long noted that about 1,000 Ancient Greek words—including labyrinthos, elaia, and names like Odysseus, Athens, and Corinth—cannot be traced to Proto-Indo-European or any known neighboring tongue. A newsletter from linguist Danny Hieber revisits this puzzle, arguing these terms likely survive from a lost 'Pre-Greek' substrate language spoken in the region before Greek speakers arrived.