ἀκτίς

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀκτῑ́ν (aktī́n)

Etymology

From an uncertain source apparently shared with Sanskrit अक्तु (aktú, “beam, ray”), perhaps:

• Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekt- (“beam”), from an unidentified root;
• Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp point”), which would exclude the Sanskrit;
• Proto-Indo-European *n̥kʷt-ín-, *n̥kʷt-ú-, from *nokʷt- (“night”), with an obscure semantic development, perhaps “end of the night” which shifted to “dawn”, as paralleled by Gothic 𐌿𐌷𐍄𐍅𐍉 (uhtwō, “dawn”), and then “first light of dawn; ray of (dawn sun)light”. This is evidenced by the night-related meanings in the Sanskrit cognate. However, Beekes rejects this etymology due to the lack of evidence for a labiovelar.

The suffix is unexplained in any case.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /aːk.tǐːs/ → /akˈtis/ → /akˈtis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /aːk.tǐːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /akˈtis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /akˈtis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /akˈtis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /akˈtis/

Noun

ἀκτῑ́ς • (aktī́s) f (genitive ἀκτῖνος); third declension

1. ray, beam
2. (figuratively) brightness, splendor
3. spoke (of a wheel)

Declension

Third declension of ἡ ἀκτῑ́ς; τῆς ἀκτῖνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἀκτῑ́ς hē aktī́s	τὼ ἀκτῖνε tṑ aktîne	αἱ ἀκτῖνες hai aktînes
Genitive	τῆς ἀκτῖνος tês aktînos	τοῖν ἀκτῑ́νοιν toîn aktī́noin	τῶν ἀκτῑ́νων tôn aktī́nōn
Dative	τῇ ἀκτῖνῐ têi aktînĭ	τοῖν ἀκτῑ́νοιν toîn aktī́noin	ταῖς ἀκτῖσῐ / ἀκτῖσῐν taîs aktîsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν ἀκτῖνᾰ tḕn aktînă	τὼ ἀκτῖνε tṑ aktîne	τᾱ̀ς ἀκτῖνᾰς tā̀s aktînăs
Vocative	ἀκτῑ́ς aktī́s	ἀκτῖνε aktîne	ἀκτῖνες aktînes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: ακτίνα (aktína)
• Translingual: Actinia

Further reading

• “ἀκτίς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀκτίς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἀκτίς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἀκτίς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀκτίς in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἀκτίς in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “ἀκτίς”, 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.
  • beam idem, page 66.
  • brightness idem, page 98.
  • gleam idem, page 361.
  • glimmer idem, page 362.
  • ray idem, page 674.
  • sunbeam idem, page 838.