ἦκα

Forms

ἦκᾰ (êka) ^[1]

Etymology

It is an adverb in short -α (-a), like ὦκα (ôka, “quickly”) and πύκα (púka, “thickly”), with the epic loss of the rough breathing (psilosis) also seen in the Homeric superlative ἤκιστος (ḗkistos, “slowest”).^[2][3][4] The forms with /h/ are the comparative ἥσσων (hḗssōn, “less, weaker”) and the superlative adverb ἥκιστα (hḗkista, “least”).^[3][4]

It has been compared with Latin sēgnis (“slow, sluggish”), which would point to a root Proto-Indo-European *seh₁k- (“slow”), but Beekes notes de Vaan's doubts about this comparison.^[2][1] Frisk compares the alternation between ἦκα and the Latin n-stem to that between πυκνός (puknós, “thick”) and the adverb in ⟨α⟩.^[4][2] Within Greek, Bechtel and others connect ἀκήν (akḗn, “silently”).^[4][3]

The ancient etymologist Orion derived it from ἀκή (akḗ, “calm”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Homer on.^[6][7] The Iliad uses it of people speaking softly to each other, of a slight turn to the left, of gently pushing someone away, and of tunics softly gleaming with oil.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Homer it describes movement that is slight or gentle, walking at a slow pace, low speech, and the soft play of light.^[7][8][6] Hesiod's Theogony has it of a gentle smile.^[7][8][6] It remained a word of epic poetry: Apollonius of Rhodes uses it of quiet weeping and talking, Nicander of gentle force, and Oppian of a colour that is slightly dark.^[7][8] In the Greek Anthology Paul the Silentiary uses it of time, “little by little”.^[7]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of speaking softly, of a slight turn, of a gentle push and of tunics softly gleaming with oil.^[6][7]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Theogony uses it of a gentle smile.^[7][8]
• 3rd century BC – Apollonius of Rhodes uses it of weeping and talking quietly.^[7][8]
• 2nd century AD – Oppian uses it for “slightly”, of a colour.^[7]
• 6th century AD – Paul the Silentiary uses it of time, “little by little”.^[7]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Slightly, a little (of leaning or turning).^[7][8]
2. Gently, without force.^[7][8][6]
3. Slowly, at a walking pace.^[8][6]
4. Softly, quietly, in an undertone (of sound).^[7][8]
5. Softly, of light gleaming on a surface or of a smile.^[7][8]
6. Little by little (of time).^[7]

Related words

• ἥσσων (hḗssōn)
• ἥκιστα (hḗkista)
• ἀκήν (akḗn)

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c d Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
6. ^ a b c d e f g Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press