ἔμφασις

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “I show, present”, from ἐν- (en-) +‎ φαίνω (phaínō)) +‎ -σῐς (-sĭs).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ém.pʰa.sis/ → /ˈem.ɸa.sis/ → /ˈem.fa.sis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ém.pʰa.sis/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈem.pʰa.sis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈem.ɸa.sis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈem.fa.sis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈem.fa.sis/

Noun

ἔμφᾰσῐς • (émphăsĭs) f (genitive ἐμφᾰ́σεως); third declension

1. appearance
2. outward appearance, reflection, image
3. setting forth, narrative, proof
4. (rhetoric) significance, emphasis, force
5. moral (of a story)

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ ἔμφᾰσῐς; τῆς ἐμφᾰ́σεως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἔμφᾰσῐς hē émphăsĭs	τὼ ἐμφᾰ́σει tṑ emphắsei	αἱ ἐμφᾰ́σεις hai emphắseis
Genitive	τῆς ἐμφᾰ́σεως tês emphắseōs	τοῖν ἐμφᾰσέοιν toîn emphăséoin	τῶν ἐμφᾰ́σεων tôn emphắseōn
Dative	τῇ ἐμφᾰ́σει tēî emphắsei	τοῖν ἐμφᾰσέοιν toîn emphăséoin	ταῖς ἐμφᾰ́σεσῐ / ἐμφᾰ́σεσῐν taîs emphắsesĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν ἔμφᾰσῐν tḕn émphăsĭn	τὼ ἐμφᾰ́σει tṑ emphắsei	τᾱ̀ς ἐμφᾰ́σεις tā̀s emphắseis
Vocative	ἔμφᾰσῐ émphăsĭ	ἐμφᾰ́σει emphắsei	ἐμφᾰ́σεις emphắseis
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἐμφατικός (emphatikós)

Descendants

• English: emphasis
• French: emphase
• Portuguese: ênfase
• Spanish: énfasis
• Catalan: èmfasi

References

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