αἰπύς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Furnée connects it with ἐξαίφνης (exaíphnēs, “on a sudden”) and ἄφνω (áphnō, “suddenly”). Probably of Pre-Greek origin. Compare αἰπός (aipós), αἰπεινός (aipeinós).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ai̯.pýs/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɛˈpys/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɛˈpys/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /eˈpys/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /eˈpis/

Adjective

αἰπῠ́ς • (aipús) m (feminine αἰπεῖᾰ, neuter αἰπύ); first/third declension (Epic, poetic)

steep, sheer
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 3.293:
  ἔστι δέ τις λισσὴ αἰπεῖά τε εἰς ἅλα πέτρη
  ἐσχατιῇ Γόρτῡνος ἐν ἠεροειδέι πόντῳ·
  ésti dé tis lissḕ aipeîá te eis hála pétrē
  eskhatiêi Górtūnos en ēeroeidéi póntōi;
  There is a certain smooth rock, sheer into the seawater,
  on the edge of Gortyn in the misty sea:
(of cities) set on a steep slope, on the top of a hill: high, lofty
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 15.70–71:
  εἰς ὅ κ’ Ἀχαιοὶ
  Ῑ̓̓λιον αἰπὺ ἕλοιεν Ἀθηναίης διὰ βουλᾱ́ς.
  eis hó k’ Akhaioì
  Īlion aipù héloien Athēnaíēs dià boulā́s.
  until the Achaeans
  take lofty Ilium through the counsels of Athena.
(figurative) sheer, utter
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.11–12:
  ἔνθ’ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες, ὅσοι φύγον αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον,
  οἴκοι ἔσαν, πόλεμόν τε πεφευγότες ἠδὲ θάλασσαν·
  énth’ álloi mèn pántes, hósoi phúgon aipùn ólethron,
  oíkoi ésan, pólemón te pepheugótes ēdè thálassan;
  Then all the others, who had fled sheer destruction,
  were at home, and had escaped war and the sea.

Inflection

First and third declension of αἰπῠ́ς; αἰπεῖᾰ; αἰπῠ́ (Epic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	αἰπῠ́ς aipús	αἰπεῖᾰ aipeîa	αἰπῠ́ aipú	αἰπέε aipée	αἰπείᾱ aipeíā	αἰπέε aipée	αἰπέες aipées	αἰπεῖαι aipeîai	αἰπέᾰ aipéa
Genitive	αἰπέος aipéos	αἰπείης aipeíēs	αἰπέος aipéos	αἰπέοιῐν aipéoiin	αἰπείαιν / αἰπείαιῐν / αἰπείῃῐν aipeíai(i)n / aipeíēiin	αἰπέοιῐν aipéoiin	αἰπέων aipéōn	αἰπειᾱ́ων / αἰπειέ͜ων / αἰπειῶν aipeiā́ōn / aipeié͜ōn / aipeiôn	αἰπέων aipéōn
Dative	αἰπεῖ aipeî	αἰπείῃ aipeíēi	αἰπεῖ aipeî	αἰπέοιῐν aipéoiin	αἰπείαιν / αἰπείαιῐν / αἰπείῃῐν aipeíai(i)n / aipeíēiin	αἰπέοιῐν aipéoiin	αἰπέεσσῐ / αἰπέεσσῐν / αἰπέεσῐ / αἰπέεσῐν / αἰπέσῐ / αἰπέσῐν aipéessi(n) / aipéesi(n) / aipési(n)	αἰπείῃσῐ / αἰπείῃσῐν / αἰπείῃς / αἰπείαις aipeíēisi(n) / aipeíēis / aipeíais	αἰπέεσσῐ / αἰπέεσσῐν / αἰπέεσῐ / αἰπέεσῐν / αἰπέσῐ / αἰπέσῐν aipéessi(n) / aipéesi(n) / aipési(n)
Accusative	αἰπῠ́ν aipún	αἰπεῖᾰν aipeîan	αἰπῠ́ aipú	αἰπέε aipée	αἰπείᾱ aipeíā	αἰπέε aipée	αἰπέᾰς aipéas	αἰπείᾱς aipeíās	αἰπέᾰ aipéa
Vocative	αἰπῠ́ aipú	αἰπεῖᾰ aipeîa	αἰπῠ́ aipú	αἰπέε aipée	αἰπείᾱ aipeíā	αἰπέε aipée	αἰπέες aipées	αἰπεῖαι aipeîai	αἰπέᾰ aipéa
Derived forms	Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
Derived forms	αἰπέως aipéōs			αἰπῠ́τερος aipúteros			αἰπῠ́τᾰτος aipútatos
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Synonyms

(steep, on a slope): αἰπεινός (aipeinós), αἰπός (aipós)

References

“αἰπύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“αἰπύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“αἰπύς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
αἰπύς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
αἰπύς in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
αἰπύς in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
“αἰπύς”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- beetling idem, page 69.
- frowning idem, page 347.
- high idem, page 399.
- precipitous idem, page 634.
- sheer idem, page 764.
- steep idem, page 815.
Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN