Ancient Greek for Everyone:
A New Digital Resource for
Beginning Greek
Unit 8 part 1:
Third Declension Nouns completed
2013 edition
Wilfred E. Major
wmajor@lsu.edu
Ancient Greek for Everyone
This class
AGE Unit 8: Third Declension Nouns completed
• In Unit 3, you learned the basics of Greek nouns.
• This Unit completes the presentation of the common types of
nouns.
• This first part presents a handful of common nouns with slight
variations from the models you have learned so far.
• but first: Review Greek nouns from Unit 3.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
• From Unit 3: A NOUN indicates a person, place or thing.
• A Greek noun, however, normally communicates THREE
pieces of information:
– Gender
– Number
– Case
• To begin building a Greek noun, start with the “stem.”
• The stem tells you to what person, place or thing the noun
refers:
παιδ = “child”
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Plural
Nominative –ς
Genitive –ος
Dative –ι
Accusative –α
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Nominative –ες
Genitive –ων
Dative –σι
Accusative –ας
Building a Greek Noun
Third Declension Endings
Ancient Greek for Everyone
From Unit 3: Building a Greek Noun
• We begin with nouns whose stem ends in a dental (-τ/-δ/-θ/-ν).
• Recall that when a sigma follows a dental, the dental disappears
and the sigma remains: δ + σ = σ.
• Notice that two of the noun endings involve adding a sigma to
the stem: nom. sing. = -ς, dat. plu. = -σι.
παιδ = “child”
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nom. (παιδς ) παῖς
Gen.
παιδός
Dat.
παιδί
Acc.
παῖδα
Plural
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Nom.
παῖδες
Gen.
παίδων
Dat. (παιδσι ) παισί
Acc.
παῖδας
Building a Greek Noun
declension of παῖς, παιδός ὁ/ἡ child
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Plural
Nom. ὁ παῖς
Gen. τοῦ παιδός
Dat. τῷ παιδί
Acc. τὸν παῖδα
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Nom. οἱ παῖδες
Gen. τῶν παίδων
Dat. τοῖς παισί
Acc. τοὺς παῖδας
Building a Greek Noun
Third Declension Endings
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Plural
Nom. ἡ παῖς
Gen. τῆς παιδός
Dat. τῇ παιδί
Acc. τὴν παῖδα
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Nom. αἱ παῖδες
Gen. τῶν παίδων
Dat. ταῖς παισί
Acc. τὰς παῖδας
Building a Greek Noun
Third Declension Endings
Ancient Greek for Everyone
From Unit 3: Building a Greek Noun
• The Neuter Law: two rules apply to all neuter words in
Greek.
• (1) The nominative singular and the accusative singular
must be identical.
• (2) The nominative plural and the accusative plural must
both end in a short -α.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nominative –
Genitive –ος
Dative –ι
Accusative –
Plural
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Nominative –α
Genitive –ων
Dative –σι
Accusative –α
Building a Greek Noun
Third Declension Endings for neuter nouns
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From Unit 3: Building a Greek Noun
• The stem ending –ματ is very common for neuter nouns.
• Recall that one of the noun endings involves adding a
sigma to the stem (dat. plu. -σι) and that τ + σ = σ.
• Also recall that only a limited number of sounds may end a
Greek word (vowel, -ν/-ρ/-ς), so the final –τ must drop off
in the nominative singular and accusative singular, since
now there is no additional ending.
σωματ = “body”
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nom. τὸ σῶμα
Gen. τοῦ σώματος
Dat. τῷ σώματι
Acc. τὸ σῶμα
Plural
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Nom. τὰ σώματα
Gen. τῶν σωμάτων
Dat. τοῖς σώμασι
Acc. τὰ σώματα
Building a Greek Noun
declension of σῶμα -ατος τό body
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From Unit 3:
Review the forms of the definite article:
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Nominative
Genitive
Dative
Accusative
Singular
ὁ ἡ τό
τοῦ τῆς τοῦ
τῷ τῇ τῷ
τόν τήν τό
Plural
οἱ αἱ τά
τῶν
τοῖς ταῖς τοῖς
τούς τάς τά
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New: Building a Greek Noun
• This unit adds nouns whose stem ends in -ρ.
• Greek often avoids the combination -ρσ-, so the -ς always
drops from the Nominative singular.
• In the Dative plural, however, there is no single way of
resolving the combination, but the -σι ending is always
intact.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New: Building a Greek Noun
• This unit adds nouns whose stem ends in -ρ.
• In the Dative plural, however, there is no single way of
resolving the combination, but -σι is always intact.
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Some nouns simply allow the full -ρσι- combination.
The noun μάρτυς -υρος ὁ/ἡ “witness” drops the ρ: μάρτυσι
The noun χείρ, χειρός ἡ “hand” shortens its stem: χέρσι
Some nouns insert an -α- between the ρ- and the -σι. These nouns
also show other small stem variations and shifts in accent. Full
declensions of four common nouns of this type (all on your
vocabulary list) follow on the next four slides. The good news is
that the variations do not change the basic case endings.
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Singular
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Plural
Nom. ὁ πατήρ
Gen. τοῦ πατρός
Dat. τῷ πατρί
Acc. τὸν πατέρα
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Nom. οἱ πατέρες
Gen. τῶν πατέρων
Dat. τοῖς πατράσι
Acc. τοὺς πατέρας
Building a Greek Noun
πατήρ, πατρός ὁ father
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Singular
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Plural
Nom. ἡ μήτηρ
Gen. τῆς μητρός
Dat. τῇ μητρί
Acc. τὴν μητέρα
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Nom. αἱ μητέρες
Gen. τῶν μητέρων
Dat. ταῖς μητράσι
Acc. τὰς μητέρας
Building a Greek Noun
μήτηρ, μητρός ἡ mother
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Singular
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Nom. ἡ θυγάτηρ
Gen. τῆς θυγατρός
Dat. τῇ θυγατρί
Acc. τὴν θυγατέρα
Plural
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Nom. αἱ θυγατέρες
Gen. τῶν θυγατέρων
Dat. ταῖς θυγατράσι
Acc. τὰς θυγατέρας
Building a Greek Noun
θυγάτηρ, θυγατρός ἡ daughter
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Plural
Nom. ὁ ἀνήρ
Gen. τοῦ ἀνδρός
Dat. τῷ ἀνδρί
Acc. τὸν ἄνδρα
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Nom. οἱ ἄνδρες
Gen. τῶν ἀνδρῶν
Dat. τοῖς ἀνδράσι
Acc. τοὺς ἄνδρας
Building a Greek Noun
ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός ὁ man
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Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Classical
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ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός ὁ man
θυγάτηρ -τρός ἡ daughter
μάρτυς -υρος ὁ/ἡ witness
μήτηρ, μητρός ἡ mother
πατήρ, πατρός ὁ father
πῦρ, πυρός τό fire
χείρ, χειρός ἡ hand
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: NT (New Testament)
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ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός ὁ man
μάρτυς -υρος ὁ/ἡ witness
μήτηρ, μητρός ἡ mother
πατήρ, πατρός ὁ father
πῦρ, πυρός τό fire
χείρ, χειρός ἡ hand
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Core
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ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός ὁ man
μάρτυς -υρος ὁ/ἡ witness
μήτηρ, μητρός ἡ mother
πατήρ, πατρός ὁ father
πῦρ, πυρός τό fire
χείρ, χειρός ἡ hand
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New: Building a Greek Noun
• This unit adds nouns whose stem ends in -εσ.
• As so often in Greek, the -σ- drops out and the surrounding
vowels contract.
• All the nouns of this type in your vocabulary are neuter.
• There are some masculine and feminine nouns of this type,
but they are less frequent or are proper names.
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For example, Socrates declines
Nom. ὁ (Σωκράτεσς ) Σωκράτης
Gen. τοῦ (Σωκράτεσος  Σωκράτεος ) Σωκράτους
Dat. τῷ (Σωκράτεσι ) Σωκράτει
Acc. τὸν (Σωκράτεσος  Σωκράτεα ) Σωκράτη(ν)
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nom. (ἔτες ) ἔτος
Gen. (ἔτεσος  ἔτεος ) ἔτους
Dat. (ἔτεσι ) ἔτει
Acc. (ἔτες ) ἔτος
Plural
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Nom. (ἔτεσα  ἔτεα ) ἔτη
Gen. (ἐτέσων  ἐτέων ) ἐτῶν
Dat. (ἔτεσσι ) ἔτεσι
Acc. (ἔτεσα  ἔτεα ) ἔτη
Building a Greek Noun
contractions in ἔτος -ους τό year
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nom. τὸ ἔτος
Gen. τοῦ ἔτους
Dat. τῷ ἔτει
Acc. τὸ ἔτος
Plural
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Nom. τὰ ἔτη
Gen. τῶν ἐτῶν
Dat. τοῖς ἔτεσι
Acc. τὰ ἔτη
Building a Greek Noun
declension of ἔτος -ους τό year
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Classical
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γένος -ους τό race, family; kind, class
ἔθνος -ους τό nation
εἶδος -ους τό form, shape
ἔπος -ους τό word
ἔτος -ους τό year
μέγεθος -ους τό magnitude
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Classical
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μέρος -ους τό part, share
ὄρος -ους τό mountain, hill
πάθος -ους τό suffering, experience, emotion
πλῆθος -ους τό crowd
τεῖχος -ους τό wall
τέλος -ους τό end
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: NT (New Testament)
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ἔθνος -ους τό nation
ἔτος -ους τό year
μέρος -ους τό part, share
ὄρος -ους τό mountain, hill
πλῆθος -ους τό crowd
σκότος –ους τό darkness
τέλος -ους τό end
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Core
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ἔθνος -ους τό nation
ἔτος -ους τό year
μέρος -ους τό part, share
ὄρος -ους τό mountain, hill
πλῆθος -ους τό crowd
σκότος –ους τό darkness
τέλος -ους τό end
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New: Building a Greek Noun
• This unit adds nouns whose stem ends in -ι, which flattens
to -ε in many forms, resulting in some contractions and
other variations.
• The Genitive singular ending lengthens from -ος to -ως.
• The Accusative singular uses -ν (familiar from the definite
article) instead of -α.
• The Nominative and Accusative plural both contract to -εις.
• Nouns of this type are consistently feminine.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Plural
Nom. ἡ πόλις
Gen. τῆς πόλεως
Dat. τῇ πόλει
Acc. τὴν πόλιν
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Nom. αἱ πόλεις
Gen. τῶν πόλεων
Dat. ταῖς πόλεσι
Acc. τὰς πόλεις
Building a Greek Noun
πόλις, πόλεως ἡ city
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Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Classical
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δύναμις -εως ἡ power
πίστις -εως ἡ trust, proof, guarantee
πόλις -εως ἡ city
πρᾶξις -εως ἡ action
τάξις -εως ἡ arrangement, order
φύσις -εως ἡ nature
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: NT (New Testament)
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ἀνάστασις -εως ἡ resurrection
δύναμις -εως ἡ power
θλῖψις -εως ἡ trouble
κρίσις -εως ἡ judgment
πίστις -εως ἡ faith
πόλις -εως ἡ city
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Core
• δύναμις -εως ἡ power
• πίστις -εως ἡ trust, proof, faith
• πόλις -εως ἡ city
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New: Building a Greek Noun
• This unit adds nouns whose stem ends in -υ, which drops
out many forms, resulting in some contractions and other
variations.
• Greek speakers and writers of different places and times
spelled some forms differently, depending on how they
pronounced them. The variations differ in quantity or
contraction, but, generally speaking, they are ones familiar
from the nouns that you have already studied. For example:
– The Genitive singular may lengthen from -ος to -ως.
– The Accusative singular may use -ν instead of -α.
– The Nominative and Accusative plural might or might not contract.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nom. ὁ βασιλεύς
Gen. τοῦ βασιλέως
Dat. τῷ βασιλεῖ
Acc. τὸν βασιλέα
Plural
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Nom. οἱ βασιλῆς
Gen. τῶν βασιλέων
Dat. τοῖς βασιλεῦσι
Acc. τοὺς βασιλέας
Building a Greek Noun
βασιλεύς -έως ὁ king (Classical)
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nom. ὁ βασιλεύς
Gen. τοῦ βασιλέως
Dat. τῷ βασιλεῖ
Acc. τὸν βασιλέα
Plural
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Nom. οἱ βασιλεῖς
Gen. τῶν βασιλέων
Dat. τοῖς βασιλεῦσι
Acc. τοὺς βασιλεῖς
Building a Greek Noun
βασιλεύς -έως ὁ king (Koine)
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Singular
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Plural
Nom. ἡ ναῦς
Gen. τῆς νεώς
Dat. τῇ νηί
Acc. τὴν ναῦν
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Nom. αἱ νῆες
Gen. τῶν νεῶν
Dat. ταῖς ναυσί
Acc. τὰς ναῦς
Building a Greek Noun
ναῦς, νεώς ἡ ship
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Singular
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Nom. βοῦς
Gen. βοός
Dat. βοί
Acc. βοῦν
Plural
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Nom. βόες
Gen. βοῶν
Dat. βουσί
Acc. βοῦς
Building a Greek Noun
βοῦς, βοός ὁ bull, ox; ἡ cow
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Classical
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βασιλεύς -έως ὁ king
βοῦς βοός ὁ bull, ox; ἡ cow
ἱππεύς -έως ὁ horseman, charioteer
ναῦς, νεώς ἡ ship
πρέσβυς -εως ὁ old man; (pl.) ambassadors
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: NT (New Testament)
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ἀρχιερύς -έως ὁ high priest
βασιλεύς -έως ὁ king
γραμματεύς -έως ὁ scribe, clerk, legal expert
ἱερεύς -έως ὁ priest
Note:
The Classical Greek word ναῦς, νεώς ἡ “ship” occurs only once in the NT
(Acts 27:41; πλοῖον is the more common word)
but it is easy to confuse with ναός, ναοῦ ὁ “temple” (45 times)
or with νοῦς, νοός ὁ “mind” (24 times).
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Core
• βασιλεύς -έως ὁ king
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New: Building a Greek Noun
• All the nouns from this part and from Unit 3 belong to a
class of nouns normally called the Third Declension. The
second part of this unit presents the first two declensions
(which basically decline like the definite article, so their
forms will look familiar).
• The final slides list the last remaining nouns of Third
Declension from your vocabulary lists.
• While they all belong to the Third Declension, each of the
following nouns exhibits some variation from the strictly
normal paradigm.
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Classical Vocabulary
• γυνή, γυναικός ἡ woman, wife
– irregular nominative singular form
• εἰκός, εἰκότος τό probability, likelihood
– regular (except that most neuter dental stem nouns have –ματ)
• ποῦς, ποδός ὁ foot
– irregular nominative singular form
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Classical Vocabulary
• ὕδωρ, ὕδατος τό water
– irregular nominative/accusative singular form
• φῶς, φωτός τό light
– irregular nominative/accusative singular form
• χάρις -ιτος ἡ favor, gratitude
– irregular accusative singular χάριν
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New Testament Vocabulary
• γυνή, γυναικός ἡ woman, wife
• irregular nominative singular form
• οὖς, ὠτός τό ear
– irregular nominative/accusative singular form
• ποῦς, ποδός ὁ foot
– irregular nominative singular form
• σάρξ, σαρκός ἡ flesh
– regular (it just happens to be the only palatal stem 3rd declension noun
on either of the vocabulary lists)
Ancient Greek for Everyone
New Testament Vocabulary
• ὕδωρ, ὕδατος τό water
• irregular nominative/accusative singular form
• φῶς, φωτός τό light
– irregular nominative/accusative singular form
• χάρις -ιτος ἡ grace, favor
– irregular accusative singular χάριν
Ancient Greek for Everyone
Unit 8 part 1 Vocabulary: Core
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γυνή, γυναικός ἡ woman, wife
ποῦς, ποδός ὁ foot
ὕδωρ, ὕδατος τό water
φῶς, φωτός τό light
χάρις -ιτος ἡ grace, favor