ὄψ

Ancient Greek

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /óps/ → /ops/ → /ops/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /óps/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ops/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ops/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ops/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ops/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Hellenic *wókʷs, from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs (“voice”). Related to ἔπος (épos) and εἰπεῖν (eipeîn). Cognates include Latin vōx, Sanskrit वाच् (vā́c), and Tocharian A wak.

Noun

ὄψ • (óps) f (genitive ὀπός); third declension

1. (poetic) voice
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 16.76
2. (poetic) word
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 7.53

Usage notes

Only used in oblique cases.

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ ὄψ; τῆς ὀπός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ὄψ hē óps	τὼ ὄπε tṑ ópe	αἱ ὄπες hai ópes
Genitive	τῆς ὀπός tês opós	τοῖν ὀποῖν toîn opoîn	τῶν ὀπῶν tôn opôn
Dative	τῇ ὀπῐ́ têi opĭ́	τοῖν ὀποῖν toîn opoîn	ταῖς ὀψῐ́ / ὀψῐ́ν taîs opsĭ́(n)
Accusative	τὴν ὄπᾰ tḕn ópă	τὼ ὄπε tṑ ópe	τᾱ̀ς ὄπᾰς tā̀s ópăs
Vocative	ὄψ óps	ὄπε ópe	ὄπες ópes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Αἴσωπος (Aísōpos)
• Καλλιόπη (Kalliópē)
• Παρθενόπη (Parthenópē)

Further reading

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

Etymology 2

From Proto-Hellenic *ókʷs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ókʷs (“eye”). See also ὤψ (ṓps).

Noun

ὄψ • (óps) f (genitive ὀπός); third declension (rare)

2. eye; face
   • 490 BCE – 430 BCE, Empedocles, Collected Works 371

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ ὄψ; τῆς ὀπός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ὄψ hē óps	τὼ ὄπε tṑ ópe	αἱ ὄπες hai ópes
Genitive	τῆς ὀπός tês opós	τοῖν ὀποῖν toîn opoîn	τῶν ὀπῶν tôn opôn
Dative	τῇ ὀπῐ́ têi opĭ́	τοῖν ὀποῖν toîn opoîn	ταῖς ὀψῐ́ / ὀψῐ́ν taîs opsĭ́(n)
Accusative	τὴν ὄπᾰ tḕn ópă	τὼ ὄπε tṑ ópe	τᾱ̀ς ὄπᾰς tā̀s ópăs
Vocative	ὄψ óps	ὄπε ópe	ὄπες ópes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• αἶθοψ (aîthops)
• Μερόπη (Merópē)

Related terms

• ὄσσε (ósse)
• ὄμμα (ómma)
• ὄψις (ópsis)
• ὄψομαι (ópsomai)

Descendants

• ⇒ taxonomic name: Lithops, Zosterops

Further reading

• “ὄψ (B)”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὄψ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ὄψ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ὄψ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ὄψ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “ὄψ”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 775