ἔθος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἔθω (éthō). Cognate to Sanskrit स्वधा (svádhā, “habit, custom”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /é.tʰos/ → /ˈe.θos/ → /ˈe.θos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /é.tʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈe.tʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.θos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.θos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈe.θos/

Noun

ἔθος • (éthos) n (genitive ἔθους or ἔθεος); third declension

1. habit, custom, manner
2. disposition, temper
3. habitually, customarily (in dative)

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ ἔθος; τοῦ ἔθους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἔθος tò éthos	τὼ ἔθει tṑ éthei	τᾰ̀ ἔθη tà éthē
Genitive	τοῦ ἔθους toû éthous	τοῖν ἐθοῖν toîn ethoîn	τῶν ἐθῶν tôn ethôn
Dative	τῷ ἔθει tôi éthei	τοῖν ἐθοῖν toîn ethoîn	τοῖς ἔθεσῐ / ἔθεσῐν toîs éthesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἔθος tò éthos	τὼ ἔθει tṑ éthei	τᾰ̀ ἔθη tà éthē
Vocative	ἔθος éthos	ἔθει éthei	ἔθη éthē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of τὸ ἔθος; τοῦ ἔθεος (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἔθος tò éthos	τὼ ἔθει / ἔθεε tṑ éthei / éthee	τᾰ̀ ἔθεᾰ tà éthea
Genitive	τοῦ ἔθεος / ἔθευς toû étheos / étheus	τοῖν ἐθέοιν toîn ethéoin	τῶν ἐθέων tôn ethéōn
Dative	τῷ ἔθει / ἔθεῐ̈ tôi éthei / étheï	τοῖν ἐθέοιν toîn ethéoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν ἔθεσῐ / ἔθεσῐν toîsi(n) éthesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἔθος tò éthos	τὼ ἔθει / ἔθεε tṑ éthei / éthee	τᾰ̀ ἔθεᾰ tà éthea
Vocative	ἔθος éthos	ἔθει / ἔθεε éthei / éthee	ἔθεᾰ éthea
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ἐθίζω (ethízō)
• ἐθάς (ethás)
• ἐθήμων (ethḗmōn)
• ἐθικός (ethikós)
• ἔθιμος (éthimos)
• ἦθος (êthos)

Further reading

• “ἔθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἔθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἔθος 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
• ἔθος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• G1485 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • conventionality idem, page 173.
  • custom idem, page 191.
  • fashion idem, page 308.
  • habit idem, page 380.
  • practice idem, page 631.
  • routine idem, page 723.
  • wont idem, page 987.