ἄχος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂égʰos, from the root *h₂egʰ- (“to be upset, in distress, afraid”). Compare Sanskrit अघ (agha, “evil”), Proto-Germanic *agaz (“fear”) (Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (agis), dialectal English ey).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /á.kʰos/ → /ˈa.xos/ → /ˈa.xos/

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

Noun

ἄχος • (ákhos) n (genitive ἄχεος or ἄχους); third declension

1. distress
2. pain, ache

Declension

Third declension of ᾰ̓́χος; ᾰ̓́χεος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ᾰ̓́χος ákhos	ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεε ákhei / ákhee	ᾰ̓́χεᾰ ákhea
Genitive	ᾰ̓́χεος / ᾰ̓́χευς ákheos / ákheus	ᾰ̓χέοιν akhéoin	ᾰ̓χέων akhéōn
Dative	ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεῐ̈ ákhei / ákheï	ᾰ̓χέοιν akhéoin	ᾰ̓́χεσῐ / ᾰ̓́χεσῐν ákhesi(n)
Accusative	ᾰ̓́χος ákhos	ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεε ákhei / ákhee	ᾰ̓́χεᾰ ákhea
Vocative	ᾰ̓́χος ákhos	ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεε ákhei / ákhee	ᾰ̓́χεᾰ ákhea
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Third declension of τὸ ᾰ̓́χος; τοῦ ᾰ̓́χους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ᾰ̓́χος tò ákhos	τὼ ᾰ̓́χει tṑ ákhei	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́χη tà ákhē
Genitive	τοῦ ᾰ̓́χους toû ákhous	τοῖν ᾰ̓χοῖν toîn akhoîn	τῶν ᾰ̓χῶν tôn akhôn
Dative	τῷ ᾰ̓́χει tôi ákhei	τοῖν ᾰ̓χοῖν toîn akhoîn	τοῖς ᾰ̓́χεσῐ / ᾰ̓́χεσῐν toîs ákhesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ ᾰ̓́χος tò ákhos	τὼ ᾰ̓́χει tṑ ákhei	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́χη tà ákhē
Vocative	ᾰ̓́χος ákhos	ᾰ̓́χει ákhei	ᾰ̓́χη ákhē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of τὸ ᾰ̓́χος; τοῦ ᾰ̓́χεος (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ᾰ̓́χος tò ákhos	τὼ ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεε tṑ ákhei / ákhee	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́χεᾰ tà ákhea
Genitive	τοῦ ᾰ̓́χεος / ᾰ̓́χευς toû ákheos / ákheus	τοῖν ᾰ̓χέοιν toîn akhéoin	τῶν ᾰ̓χέων tôn akhéōn
Dative	τῷ ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεῐ̈ tôi ákhei / ákheï	τοῖν ᾰ̓χέοιν toîn akhéoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν ᾰ̓́χεσῐ / ᾰ̓́χεσῐν toîsi(n) ákhesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ ᾰ̓́χος tò ákhos	τὼ ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεε tṑ ákhei / ákhee	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́χεᾰ tà ákhea
Vocative	ᾰ̓́χος ákhos	ᾰ̓́χει / ᾰ̓́χεε ákhei / ákhee	ᾰ̓́χεᾰ ákhea
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Related terms

• ἄχνυμαι (ákhnumai)

See also

• Ἀχιλλεύς (Akhilleús) (possibly derived from ἄχος)

References

• “ἄχος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄχος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἄχος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἄχος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄχος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἄχος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “ἄχος”, 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.
  • ache idem, page 8.
  • anguish idem, page 29.
  • distress idem, page 242.
  • grief idem, page 373.
  • heaviness idem, page 393.
  • melancholy idem, page 524.
  • misery idem, page 534.
  • pain idem, page 588.
  • sadness idem, page 730.
  • smart idem, page 786.
  • sorrow idem, page 795.
  • torment idem, page 881.
  • trouble idem, page 897.
  • unhappiness idem, page 920.