ἀκέφαλος

See also: ακέφαλος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἀ- (a-, privative alpha) +‎ κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”) +‎ -ος (-os).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.ké.pʰa.los/ → /aˈce.ɸa.los/ → /aˈce.fa.los/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.ké.pʰa.los/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈke.pʰa.los/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈce.ɸa.los/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈce.fa.los/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈce.fa.los/

Adjective

ᾰ̓κέφᾰλος • (ăképhălos) m or f (neuter ᾰ̓κέφᾰλον); second declension

1. headless
2. without beginning

Inflection

Second declension of ᾰ̓κέφᾰλος; ᾰ̓κέφᾰλον (Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		ᾰ̓κέφᾰλος ăképhălos	ᾰ̓κέφᾰλον ăképhălon		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λω ăkephắlō	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λω ăkephắlō		ᾰ̓κέφᾰλοι ăképhăloi	ᾰ̓κέφᾰλᾰ ăképhălă
Genitive		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λου ăkephắlou	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λου ăkephắlou		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λοιν ăkephắloin	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λοιν ăkephắloin		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λων ăkephắlōn	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λων ăkephắlōn
Dative		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λῳ ăkephắlōi	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λῳ ăkephắlōi		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λοιν ăkephắloin	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λοιν ăkephắloin		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λοις ăkephắlois	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λοις ăkephắlois
Accusative		ᾰ̓κέφᾰλον ăképhălon	ᾰ̓κέφᾰλον ăképhălon		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λω ăkephắlō	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λω ăkephắlō		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λους ăkephắlous	ᾰ̓κέφᾰλᾰ ăképhălă
Vocative		ᾰ̓κέφᾰλε ăképhăle	ᾰ̓κέφᾰλον ăképhălon		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λω ăkephắlō	ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λω ăkephắlō		ᾰ̓κέφᾰλοι ăképhăloi	ᾰ̓κέφᾰλᾰ ăképhălă
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		ᾰ̓κεφᾰ́λως ăkephắlōs			ᾰ̓κεφᾰλώτερος ăkephălṓteros			ᾰ̓κεφᾰλώτᾰτος ăkephălṓtătos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: ακέφαλος (akéfalos)
• → Latin: acephalus (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• “ἀκέφαλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀκέφαλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἀκέφαλος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀκέφαλος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• ἀκέφαλος 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.
  • headless idem, page 391.