ὤψ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

With unexpected lengthening from earlier ὄψ (óps), from Proto-Hellenic *ókʷs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ókʷs, from *h₃ekʷ-.

The form ὄσσε (ósse, “eyes”) (from Proto-Hellenic *óťťe < Proto-Indo-European *h₃ókʷih₁) is the inherited dual of this noun; regular forms were created later by analogy.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɔ̌ːps/ → /ops/ → /ops/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɔ̌ːps/
• (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/

Noun

ὤψ • (ṓps) f (genitive ὠπός); third declension

1. (the phrase εἰς ὦπα (eis ôpa), in Homer and Hesiod) to the eye; (possibly) in the face
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.158:

     αἰνῶς ἀθανάτῃσι θεῇς εἰς ὦπα ἔοικεν

     ainôs athanátēisi theēîs eis ôpa éoiken

     To the eye [or in her face] she looks astonishingly like the immortal goddesses.

2. (rarely in other forms) eye

   Synonym: ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós)

   • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Cratylus 409c:

     Σωκράτης ὁ μὲν “μεὶς” ἀπὸ τοῦ μειοῦσθαι εἴη ἂν “μείης” ὀρθῶς κεκλημένος, τὰ δ’ “ἄστρα” ἔοικε τῆς ἀστραπῆς ἐπωνυμίαν ἔχειν. ἡ δὲ “ἀστραπή”, ὅτι τὰ ὦπα ἀναστρέφει, “ἀναστρωπὴ” ἂν εἴη, νῦν δὲ “ἀστραπὴ” καλλωπισθεῖσα κέκληται.

     Sōkrátēs ho mèn “meìs” apò toû meioûsthai eíē àn “meíēs” orthôs keklēménos, tà d’ “ástra” éoike tês astrapês epōnumían ékhein. hē dè “astrapḗ”, hóti tà ôpa anastréphei, “anastrōpḕ” àn eíē, nûn dè “astrapḕ” kallōpistheîsa kéklētai.

     • 1903 translation by John Burnet

       The word “month” (μείς) would be properly pronounced μείης, from μειοῦσθαι, “to grow less,” and I think the stars (ἄστερα) get their name from ἀστραπή (lightning). But ἀστραπή, because it turns our eyes upwards (τὰ ὦπα ἀναστρέφει), would be called ἀναστρωπή, which is now pronounced more prettily ἀστραπή.

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ ὤψ; τῆς ὠπός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ὤψ hē ṓps	τὼ ὦπε tṑ ôpe	αἱ ὦπες hai ôpes
Genitive	τῆς ὠπός tês ōpós	τοῖν ὠποῖν toîn ōpoîn	τῶν ὠπῶν tôn ōpôn
Dative	τῇ ὠπῐ́ tēî ōpĭ́	τοῖν ὠποῖν toîn ōpoîn	ταῖς ὠψῐ́ / ὠψῐ́ν taîs ōpsĭ́(n)
Accusative	τὴν ὦπᾰ tḕn ôpă	τὼ ὦπε tṑ ôpe	τᾱ̀ς ὦπᾰς tā̀s ôpăs
Vocative	ὤψ ṓps	ὦπε ôpe	ὦπες ôpes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• βοῶπις (boôpis)
• γλαυκῶπις (glaukôpis)
• Εὐρώπη (Eurṓpē) (perhaps)
• Κύκλωψ (Kúklōps) (perhaps)
• κυνώπης (kunṓpēs)
• πρόσωπον (prósōpon)

Related terms

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

References

• “ὤψ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ὤψ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ὤψ in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• (no entry for the specified headword) Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• J. B. Hofmann, Ετυμολογικόν Λεξικόν της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής (Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Griechischen)
• Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 775