ἀληθής

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀλᾱθάς (alāthás) — Doric

Etymology

In form it would be from ἀ- (a-, “un-”) + *ληθής, from λῆθος (lêthos, “*concealment, forgetfulness”) +‎ -ής (-ḗs), thus "unconcealed", "unforgotten".

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to be concealed”) (whence λήθω (lḗthō), λανθάνω (lanthánō) and more)

Adjective

ᾰ̓ληθής • (alēthḗs) m or f (neuter ᾰ̓ληθές); third declension

1. (of things) true, real, genuine
2. (of people) truthful, honest
   • 385 BCE – 380 BCE, Plato, Symposium 217e:

     οἶνος ἦν ἀληθής

     oînos […] ên alēthḗs

     Wine is truthful. (in vino veritas)

Declension

Antonyms

• ψευδής (pseudḗs, “false, untrue; deceived, misled”)
• ψυδρός (psudrós, “false, untrue; lying, deceitful”)

Derived terms

• ᾰ̓λήθεια (alḗtheia)
• ᾰ̓ληθῶς (alēthôs, adverb)

Descendants

• Greek: αληθής (alithís), αληθινός (alithinós)

References

• “ἀληθής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀληθής”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἀληθής”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἀληθής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀληθής in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἀληθής in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• G227 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • accurate idem, page 7.
  • actual idem, page 10.
  • authentic idem, page 53.
  • correct idem, page 174.
  • right idem, page 714.
  • true idem, page 898.
  • truthful idem, page 899.
  • veracious idem, page 948.