Summary\n: The paper discusses the origins and etymology of the word combination μέροπες ἄνθρωποι ‘mortal men’ found in epic formulas like πόλις μερόπων ἀνθρώπων and γένος μερόπων ἀνθρώπων. A new origin is proposed for the adjective μέροψ: its comparison with SKT márya- ‘young man’ shows that it may derive from the root *(s)mer- ‘share from’, i.e. *μεῖρος < *(s)merjo- ‘someone sharing, taking part in’ + the suffix -οπ- (< *h3eky- ‘look’).