ἀπραξία

See also: απραξία and ἀπραξίᾳ

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 10 July 2023

Etymology

From ᾰ̓- (ă-, “un-, in-, non-”) +‎ πρᾶξῐς (prâxĭs, “doing, action”) +‎ -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, abstract noun suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.praːk.sí.aː/ → /a.prakˈsi.a/ → /a.prakˈsi.a/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.praːk.sí.aː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/

Noun

ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ • (ăprāxĭ́ā) f (genitive ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς); first declension

1. nonaction

   Synonym: ᾰ̓πρᾱγῐ́ᾱ (ăprāgĭ́ā, concrete noun)

   • 408 BCE, Euripides, Orestes 426:

     Οὔπω· τὸ μέλλον δ᾽ ῐ̓́σον ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾳ λέγω.

     Oúpō; tò méllon d’ ĭ́son ăprāxĭ́āi légō.

     Not yet; but I speak of the future as equal to not acting.

   • 360 BCE, Plato, The Sophist 262c:

      […]· οὐδεμῐ́ᾰν γᾰ̀ρ οὔτε οὕτως οὔτ᾽ ἐκείνως πρᾶξῐν οὐδ᾽ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱν οὐδὲ οὐσῐ́ᾱν ὄντος οὐδὲ μὴ ὄντος δηλοῖ τᾰ̀ φωνηθέντᾰ, πρὶν ᾰ̓́ν τῐς τοῖς ὀνόμᾰσῐ τᾰ̀ ῥήμᾰτᾰ κερᾰ́σῃ.

      […]; oudemĭ́ăn gằr oúte hoútōs oút’ ekeínōs prâxĭn oud’ ăprāxĭ́ān oudè ousĭ́ān óntos oudè mḕ óntos dēloî tằ phōnēthéntă, prìn ắn tĭs toîs onómăsĭ tằ rhḗmătă kerắsēi.

2. leisure, rest from business
   • 342 BCE – 290 BCE, Menander, 633
   • 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Sulla 8
3. lack of success; futility
   • 389 BCE – 314 BCE, Aeschines, Against Timarchus 188
   • 110 BCE – 35 BCE, Philodemus, On Rhetoric 1.38S

Inflection

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ; τῆς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ hē ăprāxĭ́ā	τὼ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ tṑ ăprāxĭ́ā	αἱ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αι hai ăprāxĭ́ai
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς tês ăprāxĭ́ās	τοῖν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αιν toîn ăprāxĭ́ain	τῶν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐῶν tôn ăprāxĭôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾳ têi ăprāxĭ́āi	τοῖν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αιν toîn ăprāxĭ́ain	ταῖς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αις taîs ăprāxĭ́ais
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱν tḕn ăprāxĭ́ān	τὼ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ tṑ ăprāxĭ́ā	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς tā̀s ăprāxĭ́ās
Vocative	ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ ăprāxĭ́ā	ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ ăprāxĭ́ā	ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αι ăprāxĭ́ai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

• ᾰ̓πρᾱγῐ́ᾱ (ăprāgĭ́ā)
• ᾰ̓́πρᾱγος (ắprāgos)
• ᾰ̓πρᾱκτέω (ăprāktéō)
• ᾰ̓́πρᾱκτος (ắprāktos)
• πρᾱ́σσω (prā́ssō)

Descendants

• → English: apraxia
• → Greek: απραξία (apraxía)

References

• “ἀπραξία”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press