ἀλφός

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *albʰós (“white”). Cognates include Latin albus (“white”), Hittite 𒀠𒉺𒀸 (alpas, “cloud”), Umbrian 𐌀𐌋𐌚𐌖 (alfu, “white”) and Middle Welsh elbid (“world”). Doublet of ἄλβος (álbos).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /al.pʰós/ → /alˈɸos/ → /alˈfos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /al.pʰós/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /alˈpʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /alˈɸos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /alˈfos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /alˈfos/

Noun

ᾰ̓λφός • (ălphós) m (genitive ᾰ̓λφοῦ); second declension

1. alphos, a type of non-contagious leprosy typified by dull white lesions.

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ ᾰ̓λφός; τοῦ ᾰ̓λφοῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ᾰ̓λφός ho ălphós	τὼ ᾰ̓λφώ tṑ ălphṓ	οἱ ᾰ̓λφοί hoi ălphoí
Genitive	τοῦ ᾰ̓λφοῦ toû ălphoû	τοῖν ᾰ̓λφοῖν toîn ălphoîn	τῶν ᾰ̓λφῶν tôn ălphôn
Dative	τῷ ᾰ̓λφῷ tōî ălphōî	τοῖν ᾰ̓λφοῖν toîn ălphoîn	τοῖς ᾰ̓λφοῖς toîs ălphoîs
Accusative	τὸν ᾰ̓λφόν tòn ălphón	τὼ ᾰ̓λφώ tṑ ălphṓ	τοὺς ᾰ̓λφούς toùs ălphoús
Vocative	ᾰ̓λφέ ălphé	ᾰ̓λφώ ălphṓ	ᾰ̓λφοί ălphoí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Further reading

• “ἀλφός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀλφός”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἀλφός in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀλφός in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)