ἅπαξ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-, zero-grade of *sem- (“one”). The second part is obscure, but the word may be some syncope of *ἁ-πακυς, from Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-pn̥kʷu- (“(lit.) all-one”). See Latin cūnctus.

Pronunciation

Adverb

ᾰ̔́πᾰξ • (hápax)

1. once, one time, only once
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 12.22:

     Σχέτλιοι, οἳ ζώοντες ὑπήλθετε δῶμ’ Ἀΐδαο,
     δισθανέες, ὅτε τ’ ἄλλοι ἅπαξ θνήσκουσ’ ἄνθρωποι.

     Skhétlioi, hoì zṓontes hupḗlthete dôm’ Aḯdao,
     disthanées, hóte t’ álloi hápax thnḗskous’ ánthrōpoi.

     You reckless ones, who entered Hades' home while living,
     dying twice, when other men only die once!

Derived terms

• ἅπαξ λεγόμενον (hápax legómenon)

Descendants

• Greek: άπαξ (ápax)
• French: hapax, apax

References

• “ἅπαξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἅπαξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἅπαξ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἅπαξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἅπαξ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἅπαξ in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• G530 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.
  • once idem, page 573.
• Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN