Ἀρκάς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Named after Ἀρκάς (Arkás, “Arcas”), son of Zeus and king of Arcadia, from Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀏 (a-ka), 𐀀𐀏𐀆 (a-ka-de), from Proto-Hellenic *árktos (“bear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos. Probably folk etymology, more likely Arcadia had an abundance of bears.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ar.kás/ → /arˈkas/ → /arˈkas/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ar.kás/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/

Noun

Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς • (Ărkắs) m or f (genitive Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δος); third declension

1. an inhabitant of Arcadia; an Arcadian

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ / ἡ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς; τοῦ / τῆς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ / ἡ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς ho / hē Ărkắs	τὼ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δε tṑ Ărkắde	οἱ / αἱ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δες hoi / hai Ărkắdes
Genitive	τοῦ / τῆς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δος toû / tês Ărkắdos	τοῖν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δοιν toîn Ărkắdoin	τῶν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δων tôn Ărkắdōn
Dative	τῷ / τῇ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δῐ tōî / tēî Ărkắdĭ	τοῖν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δοιν toîn Ărkắdoin	τοῖς / ταῖς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́σῐ / Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́σῐν toîs / taîs Ărkắsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν / τὴν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δᾰ tòn / tḕn Ărkắdă	τὼ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δε tṑ Ărkắde	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δᾰς toùs / tā̀s Ărkắdăs
Vocative	Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς Ărkắs	Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δε Ărkắde	Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δες Ărkắdes
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 *-δς (*-ds).

Derived terms

• Ᾰ̓ρκᾰδῐ́ᾱ (Ărkădĭ́ā)
• Ᾰ̓ρκᾰδῐκός (Ărkădĭkós)

Descendants

• Latin: Arcas
• Greek: Αρκάς (Arkás), Αρκάδας m (Arkádas), Αρκάδα f (Arkáda), Αρκάδες pl (Arkádes)

References

• Blažek, Václav (2017): Indo-European Bear

Further reading

• “Ἀρκάς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἀρκάς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• Ἀρκάς in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “Ἀρκάς”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,002