ἄλσος

See also: άλσος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”), the same root of Latin alō, alumnus, oleō and English old. On the other hand, Beekes connects the word with the proper noun Ἄλτις (Áltis), the name of a sacred enclosure dedicated to Zeus in Olympia; on this basis one could reconstruct the noun as *alti̯os. Furnée accepts the equation, but interprets it in the context of other instances of an interchange of dental and sibilant in Pre-Greek words, like ἄννησον (ánnēson) and ἄνηθον (ánēthon).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ál.sos/ → /ˈal.sos/ → /ˈal.sos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ál.sos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈal.sos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈal.sos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈal.sos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈal.sos/

Noun

ἄλσος • (álsos) n (genitive ἄλσεος or ἄλσους); third declension

1. grove, especially a sacred one
2. (transferred sense) any hallowed precinct, even one without trees

Declension

Third declension of τὸ ᾰ̓́λσος; τοῦ ᾰ̓́λσους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ᾰ̓́λσος tò álsos	τὼ ᾰ̓́λσει tṑ álsei	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́λση tà álsē
Genitive	τοῦ ᾰ̓́λσους toû álsous	τοῖν ᾰ̓λσοῖν toîn alsoîn	τῶν ᾰ̓λσῶν tôn alsôn
Dative	τῷ ᾰ̓́λσει tôi álsei	τοῖν ᾰ̓λσοῖν toîn alsoîn	τοῖς ᾰ̓́λσεσῐ / ᾰ̓́λσεσῐν toîs álsesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ ᾰ̓́λσος tò álsos	τὼ ᾰ̓́λσει tṑ álsei	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́λση tà álsē
Vocative	ᾰ̓́λσος álsos	ᾰ̓́λσει álsei	ᾰ̓́λση álsē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἀλσηῐ́ς (alsēís)
• ἀλσῐ́νη (alsínē)
• ἀλσοκομέω (alsokoméō)
• ἀλσοκομῐ́ᾱ (alsokomíā)
• ἀλσοκομῐκή (alsokomikḗ)
• ἀλσοκομῐκός (alsokomikós)
• ἀλσοκόμος (alsokómos)
• ἀλσοποιία (alsopoiía)
• ἀλσώδης (alsṓdēs)
• ἄλσωμᾰ (álsōma)
• ἀλσών (alsṓn)

 

Descendants

• Greek: άλσος (álsos)

Further reading

• “ἄλσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄλσος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἄλσος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἄλσος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄλσος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἄλσος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “ἄλσος”, 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.
  • avenue idem, page 55.
  • close idem, page 138.
  • consecrated idem, page 162.
  • demesne idem, page 209.
  • domain idem, page 246.
  • enclosure idem, page 271.
  • grove idem, page 375.
  • lawn idem, page 480.
  • park idem, page 593.
  • precincts idem, page 634.