ἄσις

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Unknown. The comparison with Sanskrit असित (asita, “dark, black”) presupposes that the -σ- in this word was preserved after *-n̥-. Nikolaev pleads for a reconstruction *h₂nsi- for these words, but there is no compelling evidence for h₂-. Compared also to Hittite ḫanzana- (“black”). However, the etymology is still uncertain.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /á.sis/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sis/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sis/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sis/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sis/

Noun

ἄσῐς • (ásĭs) f (genitive ἄσῐος); third declension

mud, slime
Synonyms: ἰλύς (ilús), ὗλις (hûlis)

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ ᾰ̓́σῐς; τῆς ᾰ̓́σῐος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓́σῐς hē ắsĭs	τὼ ᾰ̓́σῐε tṑ ắsĭe	αἱ ᾰ̓́σῐες hai ắsĭes
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓́σῐος tês ắsĭos	τοῖν ᾰ̓σῐ́οιν toîn ăsĭ́oin	τῶν ᾰ̓σῐ́ων tôn ăsĭ́ōn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓́σῑ têi ắsī	τοῖν ᾰ̓σῐ́οιν toîn ăsĭ́oin	ταῖς ᾰ̓́σῐσῐ / ᾰ̓́σῐσῐν taîs ắsĭsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓́σῐν tḕn ắsĭn	τὼ ᾰ̓́σῐε tṑ ắsĭe	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓́σῑς / ᾰ̓́σῐᾰς tā̀s ắsīs / ắsĭăs
Vocative	ᾰ̓́σῐ ắsĭ	ᾰ̓́σῐε ắsĭe	ᾰ̓́σῐες ắsĭes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ἀσώδης (asṓdēs)

“ἄσις”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἄσις”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ἄσις”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἄσις in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἄσις in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἄσις in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN