Ἀρκάς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Named after Ἀρκάς (Arkás, “Arcas”), son of Zeus and king of Arcadia, from Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀏 (a-ka), 𐀀𐀏𐀆 (a-ka-de), from Proto-Hellenic *árktos (“bear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ŕ̥tḱos. Probably folk etymology, more likely Arcadia had an abundance of bears.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ar.kás/ → /arˈkas/ → /arˈkas/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ar.kás/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /arˈkas/

Noun

Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς • (Ărkắs) m or f (genitive Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δος); third declension

1. an inhabitant of Arcadia; an Arcadian

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ, ἡ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς; τοῦ, τῆς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς ho, hē Ărkắs	τὼ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δε tṑ Ărkắde	οἱ, αἱ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δες hoi, hai Ărkắdes
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δος toû, tês Ărkắdos	τοῖν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δοιν toîn Ărkắdoin	τῶν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δων tôn Ărkắdōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δῐ tôi, têi Ărkắdĭ	τοῖν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δοιν toîn Ărkắdoin	τοῖς, ταῖς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́σῐ / Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́σῐν toîs, taîs Ărkắsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δᾰ tòn, tḕn Ărkắdă	τὼ Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δε tṑ Ărkắde	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δᾰς toùs, tā̀s Ărkắdăs
Vocative	Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́ς Ărkắs	Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δε Ărkắde	Ᾰ̓ρκᾰ́δες Ărkắdes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ds.

Derived terms

• Ᾰ̓ρκᾰδῐ́ᾱ (Ărkădĭ́ā)
• Ᾰ̓ρκᾰδῐκός (Ărkădĭkós)

Descendants

• Latin: Arcas
• Greek: Αρκάς (Arkás), Αρκάδας m (Arkádas), Αρκάδα f (Arkáda), Αρκάδες pl (Arkádes)

References

• Blažek, Václav (2017): Indo-European Bear

Further reading

• “Ἀρκάς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἀρκάς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• Ἀρκάς in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• “Ἀρκάς”, 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, page 1,002