βία

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• βῐ́η (bíē) — Epic, Ionic

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *gʷiā, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷey- (“to win”). Cognate with Sanskrit ज्या (jyā́, “overwhelming force; power; vanquishing”), जय (jayá, “victory”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /bí.aː/ → /ˈβi.a/ → /ˈvi.a/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bí.aː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈbi.a/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈβi.a/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈvi.a/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈvi.a/

Noun

βῐ́ᾱ • (bíā) f (genitive βῐ́ᾱς); first declension

1. bodily strength, force
2. act of violence

Inflection

First declension of ἡ βῐ́ᾱ; τῆς βῐ́ᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ βῐ́ᾱ hē bíā	τὼ βῐ́ᾱ tṑ bíā	αἱ βῐ́αι hai bíai
Genitive	τῆς βῐ́ᾱς tês bíās	τοῖν βῐ́αιν toîn bíain	τῶν βῐῶν tôn biôn
Dative	τῇ βῐ́ᾳ têi bíāi	τοῖν βῐ́αιν toîn bíain	ταῖς βῐ́αις taîs bíais
Accusative	τὴν βῐ́ᾱν tḕn bíān	τὼ βῐ́ᾱ tṑ bíā	τᾱ̀ς βῐ́ᾱς tā̀s bíās
Vocative	βῐ́ᾱ bíā	βῐ́ᾱ bíā	βῐ́αι bíai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Ἀλκιβιάδης (Alkibiádēs)
• ἀντίβιος (antíbios)
• βιάζω (biázō)
• βίαιος (bíaios)
• βιάω (biáō)
• Εὐρυβιάδης (Eurubiádēs)
• Ζηνοβία (Zēnobía)
• ὑπέρβιος (hupérbios)

 

Further reading

• “βία”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “βία”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• βία in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βία in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “βία”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G970 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• βία in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • brute idem, page 102.
  • force idem, page 335.
  • might idem, page 528.
  • push idem, page 660.
  • violence idem, page 953.

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βία (bía).

Noun

βία • (vía) f (uncountable)

1. violence
2. force
3. bustle, rush

Declension

Declension of βία

	singular
nominative	βία (vía)
genitive	βίας (vías)
accusative	βία (vía)
vocative	βία (vía)

Uncommon plural form βίες

Synonyms

• (violence): βιαιοπραγία f (viaiopragía, “physical assault, assault and battery”)
• (violence): βιαιότητα f (viaiótita, “violence”)
• (rush): ορμητικότητα f (ormitikótita, “impetuosity, violence”)
• (bustle): παραφορά f (paraforá, “excitement”)
• (violence): σφοδρότητα f (sfodrótita, “violence, ferocity”)

Further reading

• βία on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el