ὄψ

Forms

ὄψ (óps) f (genitive ὀπός); third declension^[1] Only the oblique cases of the singular are found: ὀπός (opós), ὀπί (opí), ὄπα (ópa).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *wókʷs,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wṓkʷs (“voice”), a root noun of Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to speak”).^[3][1][5] The root's athematic verb is seen in Sanskrit वक्ति (vákti, “he speaks”).^[6][5]

Cognate with Latin vōx and Sanskrit वाच् (vā́k).^[3][1][6] Latin and Sanskrit have a long vowel, which spread from the nominative singular, and Sanskrit points to a paradigm with /ō/ in the nominative and /o/ in the accusative, while Greek has generalised the short vowel.^[3][5] Beside it Greek has an s-stem of the same root in ἔπος (épos) “word”, and also ἐνοπή (enopḗ) “cry” and the aorist εἶπον (eîpon) “I said”.^[3][2][5] ὄσσα (óssa) “rumour, voice” is formed from the same noun with the suffix /-ya/, like γλῶσσα (glôssa).^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is the voice of men and gods, of the Muses singing, of cicadas and of bleating lambs, and also what a voice utters, a word or command (“he recognised the goddess's voice”).^[7][2][4]

Semantic evolution

It remained a poetic word, used in the oblique cases only.^[2][4] Hesiod used it for the sounds of the monster Typhon, Alcman and Euripides for the song of birds, and Theognis for the sound of the pipes, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes used it in lyric passages.^[4][2]

It survives in compounds and names such as εὐρύοπα (eurúopa) “far-thundering”, an epithet of Zeus, and Καλλιόπη (Kalliópē), the Muse “of the beautiful voice”.^[1][3]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for the voices of men, gods and animals.^[7][2]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it for the sound of Typhon.^[4][8]
• 7th century BC – Alcman uses it for the voice of a bird.^[4][8]
• 6th century BC – Theognis uses it for the sound of pipes.^[4][8]
• 3rd century BC – Apollonius of Rhodes still uses it in epic.^[4][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A voice, of a person or a god, speaking, shouting or lamenting.^[2][4][7]
2. What a voice utters: a word, command.^[2][4][7]
3. The voice or cry of animals: lambs, birds, cicadas.^[4][7]
4. A singing voice, song; figuratively, the sound of pipes.^[4][2]

Word family

• εὐρύοπα (eurúopa)
• Καλλιόπη (Kalliópē)
• ὄσσα (óssa)

Related words

• εἶπον (eîpon)
• ἔπος (épos)
• ἔπω (épō)
• νῶροψ (nôrops)
• ὄμμα (ómma)
• ὄππα (óppa)
• ὄσσε (ósse)
• ὤψ (ṓps)
• ἐνοπή (enopḗ)
• Latin vōx

Usage notes

A rare poetic word ὄψ (óps) “eye, face” (LSJ ὄψ B), equivalent to ὄψις (ópsis), appears in Empedocles and Antimachus.^[2][3] It is related to ὄψομαι (ópsomai) “I shall see”, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“to see”), and may be a back-formation from compounds such as αἶθοψ (aîthops).^[1][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c d e 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
6. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ a b c d e Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
8. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge