ἕλος

See also: έλος and Ἕλος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *hélos, from Proto-Indo-European *sélos ~ *séles- (“marsh”). Cognate with Sanskrit सरस् (sáras) and perhaps Old Armenian եղտիւր (ełtiwr).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /hé.los/ → /ˈe.los/ → /ˈe.los/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /hé.los/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)e.los/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.los/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.los/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈe.los/

Noun

ἕλος • (hélos) n (genitive ἕλεος or ἕλους); third declension

1. marsh-meadow
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 20.221
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 4.483
   1. (generally) marshy ground, marsh, bog
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 14.474
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.191
      • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.110
      • Inscr.Cypr. 135.9
      • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Hellenica 1.2.7
2. backwater
   • 300 BCE – 250 BCE, Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 2.1283

Declension

Third declension of τὸ ἕλος; τοῦ ἕλους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἕλος tò hélos	τὼ ἕλει tṑ hélei	τᾰ̀ ἕλη tà hélē
Genitive	τοῦ ἕλους toû hélous	τοῖν ἑλοῖν toîn heloîn	τῶν ἑλῶν tôn helôn
Dative	τῷ ἕλει tôi hélei	τοῖν ἑλοῖν toîn heloîn	τοῖς ἕλεσῐ / ἕλεσῐν toîs hélesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἕλος tò hélos	τὼ ἕλει tṑ hélei	τᾰ̀ ἕλη tà hélē
Vocative	ἕλος hélos	ἕλει hélei	ἕλη hélē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of ἕλος; ἕλεος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἕλος hélos	ἕλει / ἕλεε hélei / hélee	ἕλεᾰ hélea
Genitive	ἕλεος / ἕλευς héleos / héleus	ἑλέοιν heléoin	ἑλέων heléōn
Dative	ἕλει / ἕλεῐ̈ hélei / héleï	ἑλέοιν heléoin	ἕλεσῐ / ἕλεσῐν hélesi(n)
Accusative	ἕλος hélos	ἕλει / ἕλεε hélei / hélee	ἕλεᾰ hélea
Vocative	ἕλος hélos	ἕλει / ἕλεε hélei / hélee	ἕλεᾰ hélea
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Third declension of τὸ ἕλος; τοῦ ἕλεος (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἕλος tò hélos	τὼ ἕλει / ἕλεε tṑ hélei / hélee	τᾰ̀ ἕλεᾰ tà hélea
Genitive	τοῦ ἕλεος / ἕλευς toû héleos / héleus	τοῖν ἑλέοιν toîn heléoin	τῶν ἑλέων tôn heléōn
Dative	τῷ ἕλει / ἕλεῐ̈ tôi hélei / héleï	τοῖν ἑλέοιν toîn heléoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν ἕλεσῐ / ἕλεσῐν toîsi(n) hélesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἕλος tò hélos	τὼ ἕλει / ἕλεε tṑ hélei / hélee	τᾰ̀ ἕλεᾰ tà hélea
Vocative	ἕλος hélos	ἕλει / ἕλεε hélei / hélee	ἕλεᾰ hélea
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• Ἑλεία (Heleía)
• ἑλειοβᾰ́της (heleiobátēs)
• ἑλειογενής (heleiogenḗs)
• ἑλειοδίακτος (heleiodíaktos)
• ἑλειομαλάχη (heleiomalákhē)
• ἕλειον (héleion)
• ἑλειονόμος (heleionómos)
• ἑλειόρριζον (heleiórrhizon)
• ἕλειος (héleios)
• ἑλειοσέλῑνον (heleiosélīnon)
• ἑλειότροφος (heleiótrophos)
• ἑλειόχρῡσος (heleiókhrūsos)
• ἑλεόθρεπτος (heleóthreptos)
• ἑλεορέω (heleoréō)
• ἑλεοσέλῑνον (heleosélīnon)
• ἑλεσμίδας (helesmídas)
• ἑλίχρῡσος (helíkhrūsos)
• Ἕλος (Hélos)

 

Descendants

• Translingual: Elodea
• English: helophyte
• Greek: έλος (élos)
• Coptic: ϩⲉⲗⲟⲥ (helos)

References

• “ἕλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἕλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἕλος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἕλος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἕλος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἕλος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • bog idem, page 87.
  • fen idem, page 315.
  • helos idem, page 395.
  • marsh idem, page 515.
  • quagmire idem, page 662.
  • slough idem, page 785.
  • swamp idem, page 846.