ὀρεύς

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• οὐρεύς (oureús) — Ionic, Epic

Etymology

From ὄρος (óros) + -εύς (-eús). Case-forms show Attic shortening of the original stem ὀρηϝ- (orēw-); see quantitative metathesis. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /o.rěu̯s/ → /oˈreɸs/ → /oˈrefs/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /o.rěu̯s/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /oˈrews/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /oˈreɸs/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /oˈrefs/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /oˈrefs/

Noun

ὀρεύς • (oreús) m (genitive ὀρέως); third declension

1. mule, beast of burden
   • 405 BCE, Aristophanes, The Frogs 289–291:

     δεινόν: παντοδαπὸν γοῦν γίγνεται
     τοτὲ μέν γε βοῦς, νυνὶ δ' ὀρεύς, τοτὲ δ' αὖ γυνὴ / ὡραιοτάτη τις.

     deinón: pantodapòn goûn gígnetai
     totè mén ge boûs, nunì d' oreús, totè d' aû gunḕ / hōraiotátē tis.

     Awful... well, it takes all kinds of shapes:
     at one time it was a cow, just now it was a mule, and then again a woman, / a very youthful one.

Usage notes

• Attic speakers preferred the term ἡμίονος, though the adjectival form ὀρικός was used in place of ἡμιονικός.

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ ὀρεύς; τοῦ ὀρέως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὀρεύς ho oreús	τὼ ὀρῆ tṑ orê	οἱ ὀρῆς / ὀρεῖς hoi orês / oreîs
Genitive	τοῦ ὀρέως toû oréōs	τοῖν ὀρέοιν toîn oréoin	τῶν ὀρέων tôn oréōn
Dative	τῷ ὀρεῖ tôi oreî	τοῖν ὀρέοιν toîn oréoin	τοῖς ὀρεῦσῐ / ὀρεῦσῐν toîs oreûsi(n)
Accusative	τὸν ὀρέᾱ tòn oréā	τὼ ὀρῆ tṑ orê	τοὺς ὀρέᾱς toùs oréās
Vocative	ὀρεῦ oreû	ὀρῆ orê	ὀρῆς / ὀρεῖς orês / oreîs
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of ὀρεύς; ὀρῆος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὀρεύς oreús	ὀρῆε orêe	ὀρῆες orêes
Genitive	ὀρῆος / ὀρέος orêos / oréos	ὀρήοιῐν orḗoiin	ὀρήων orḗōn
Dative	ὀρῆῐ̈ / ὀρέῐ̈ orêï / oréï	ὀρήοιῐν orḗoiin	ὀρήεσσῐ / ὀρήεσσῐν / ὀρεῦσῐ / ὀρεῦσῐν orḗessi(n) / oreûsi(n)
Accusative	ὀρῆᾰ / ὀρέᾰ orêa / oréa	ὀρῆε orêe	ὀρῆᾰς orêas
Vocative	ὀρεῦ oreû	ὀρῆε orêe	ὀρῆες orêes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ὀρεωκόμος (oreōkómos)

 

Further reading

• “ὀρεύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὀρεύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ὀρεύς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • mule idem, page 546.
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, § 319-320