Ὀδυσσεύς

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• Ὀδυσεύς (Oduseús)
• Ὀλυσσεύς (Olusseús)
• Ὀλυττεύς (Olutteús)
• Οὑδυσσεύς (Houdusseús)
• Οὐλιξεύς (Oulixeús)
• Οὐλίξης (Oulíxēs)
• Ὀλίξης (Olíxēs)
• Ὀλισεύς (Oliseús) — the earliest epigraphic form

Etymology

According to M. L. West, (Aeolic-)Ionian epics and dependent traditions have δ-forms while in all mainland Greece and most colonies only the λ-forms are attested. It is unclear which ones are older, and it is thought that the connection of the name with the Trojan War probably is secondary. Kretschmer believed that δ-forms are secondary and due to a paronymic attraction to a verb discussed below, while Solmsen, on the contrary, proposed that λ-forms actually originate in dissimilation of dentals.

The etymology of the name is contested. Ancient authors (beginning with the Odyssey (19.406 sqq.) link it to the verb ὀδύσσομαι (odússomai, “to hate”), which is from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed- (“to hate”), but a non-Greek or even a non-Indo-European origin seems more likely. Beekes tentatively reconstructed the Pre-Greek source as *Od/luk^yeu.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /o.dys.sěu̯s/ → /o.ðysˈseɸs/ → /o.ðiˈsefs/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /o.dys.sěu̯s/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /o.dysˈsews/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /o.ðysˈseɸs/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /o.ðysˈsefs/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /o.ðiˈsefs/

Proper noun

Ὀδῠσσεύς • (Odusseús) m (genitive Ὀδῠσσέως or Ὀδῠσσῆος); third declension (Epic, Attic)

1. Odysseus

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ Ὀδῠσσεύς; τοῦ Ὀδῠσσέως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Ὀδῠσσεύς ho Odusseús
Genitive	τοῦ Ὀδῠσσέως toû Odusséōs
Dative	τῷ Ὀδῠσσεῖ tôi Odusseî
Accusative	τὸν Ὀδῠσσέᾱ tòn Odusséā
Vocative	Ὀδῠσσεῦ Odusseû
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of Ὀδῠσσεύς; Ὀδῠσσῆος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	Ὀδῠσσεύς Odusseús
Genitive	Ὀδῠσσῆος / Ὀδῠσσέος Odussêos / Odusséos
Dative	Ὀδῠσσῆῐ̈ / Ὀδῠσσέῐ̈ Odussêï / Odusséï
Accusative	Ὀδῠσσῆᾰ / Ὀδῠσσέᾰ Odussêa / Odusséa
Vocative	Ὀδῠσσεῦ Odusseû
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• Ὀδυσσεία (Odusseía)
• Ὀδύσσεια (Odússeia)

Descendants

• Greek: Οδυσσεύς (Odysséfs); Οδυσσέας (Odysséas)
• Latin: Odysseus; Ulixes; Ulysses

References

• “Ὀδυσσεύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ὀδυσσεύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “Ὀδυσσεύς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• “Ὀδυσσεύς”, 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 1,018