ὄπεας

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ὔπεα (úpea)

Etymology

From the radical *ὀπ- (from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-), the same root of ὀπή (opḗ, “hole, opening”). The word would properly mean "hole-making tool", rather than "provided with an eye". The nominative would then yield *ὄπεαρ (*ópear), replaced by the current form. The alternative form remains difficult to explain; folk etymology was assumed and dialectal origin may also be considered.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ó.pe.as/ → /ˈo.pe.as/ → /ˈo.pe.as/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ó.pe.as/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pe.as/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pe.as/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pe.as/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈo.pe.as/

Noun

ὄπεᾰς • (ópeas) n (genitive ὀπέᾰτος); third declension

1. awl

   Synonym: χήλευμα (khḗleuma)

Declension

Third declension of τὸ ὄπεᾰς; τοῦ ὀπέᾰτος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	τὸ ὄπεᾰς tò ópeas
Genitive	τοῦ ὀπέᾰτος toû opéatos
Dative	τῷ ὀπέᾰτῐ tôi opéati
Accusative	τὸ ὄπεᾰς tò ópeas
Vocative	ὄπεᾰς ópeas
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ts.

Derived terms

• ὀπητίδιον (opētídion)
• ὀπήτιον (opḗtion)

 

Further reading

• “ὄπεας”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὄπεας”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ὄπεας in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN