ADJECTIVES
ADJECTIVES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND DECLENSIONS
[*] 286.
Adjectives of Three Endings.—Most adjectives of the vowel declension have three endings:
-ος, -η (or
-α_),
-ον. The masculine and neuter are declined according to the second declension, the feminine according to the first.
a. When
ε, ι, or
ρ (
30,
218) precedes
-ος the feminine ends in
-α_, not in
-η. But adjectives in
-οος (not preceded by
ρ) have
η. Thus,
ὄγδοος, ὀγδόη, ὄγδοον eighth,
ἀθρόος, ἀθρόα_, ἀθρόον crowded. See 290 e.
[*] 287.
ἀγαθός good,
ἄξιος worthy,
μακρός long are thus declined:
ἐσθλός good,
κακός bad,
σοφός wise,
κοῦφος, κούφη, κοῦφον light,
δῆλος clear; ἀνδρεῖος, ἀνδρεία_, ἀνδρεῖον courageous,
δίκαιος just,
ὅμοιος like,
αἰσχρός, αἰσχρά_, αἰσχρόν base,
ἐλεύθερος free; all participles in
-ος and all superlatives.
a. The accent in the feminine nominative and genitive plural follows that of the masculine:
ἄξιαι, ἀξίων, not
ἀξίαι, ἀξιῶν, as would be expected according to the rule for substantives (
205), e.g. as in
αἰτία_ cause,
αἰτίαι, αἰτιῶν.
b. All adjectives and participles may use the mas uline instead of the feminine dual forms:
τὼ ἀγαθὼ μητέρε the two good mothers.
[*] 287 D. In the fem. nom. sing. Ionic has
-η, never
-α_; in the fem. gen. pl. Hom. has
-ά_ων (less often
-έων); Hdt. has
-έων in oxytone adjectives and participles, and so probably in barytones.
[*] 288.
Adjectives of Two Endings.—Adjectives using the masculine for the feminine are called adjectives of two endings. Most such adjectives are compounds.
[*] 289.
ἄδικος unjust (
ἀ- without,
δίκη justice),
φρόνιμος prudent, and
ἵ_λεως propitious are declined thus:
a. Like
ἄδικος are declined the compounded
ἄ-λογος irrational,
ἄ-τι_μος dishonoured,
ἀ-χρεῖος useless,
ἔμ-πειρος experienced,
ἐπί-φθονος envious,
εὔ-ξενος hospitable,
ὑπ-ήκοος obedient. Like
φρόνιμος are declined the uncompounded
βάρβαρος barbarian,
ἥσυχος quiet,
ἥμερος tame,
λάλος talkative.
b. Like
ἵ_λεως are declined other adjectives of the Attic declension (
237), as
ἄκερως without horns,
ἀξιόχρεως serviceable. For the accent, see 163 a. Adjectives in
-ως, -ων have
-α in the neut. pl., but
ἔκπλεω occurs in Xenophon.
c. πλέως full has three endings:
πλέως, πλέα_, πλέων, pl.
πλέῳ, πλέαι, πλέα, but most compounds, such as
ἔμπλεως quite full, have the fem. like the masc.
σῶς safe has usually sing. N.
σῶς masc., fem. (rarely
σᾶ),
σῶν neut., A.
σῶν; plur. N.
σῷ masc., fem.,
σᾶ neut., A.
σῶς masc., fem.,
σᾶ neut. Other cases are supplied by
σῶος, σώα_, σῶον. σῶον also occurs in the accusative.
d. In poetry, and sometimes in prose, adjectives commonly of two endings have a feminine form, as
πάτριος paternal,
βίαιος violent; and those commonly of three endings have no feminine, as
ἀναγκαῖος necessary,
φίλιος friendly.
[*] 289 D. Hom. has
ἵ_λα_ος or
ἵ_λα^ος; πλεῖος, πλείη, πλεῖον (Hdt.
πλέος, πλέη, πλέον);
σῶς (only in this form), and
σόος, σόη, σόον, Hom. has N.
ζώς, A.
ζών living, and
ζωός, ζωή, ζωόν living.
[*] 290.
Contracted Adjectives.—Most adjectives in
-εος and
-οος are contracted. Examples:
χρύ_σεος golden,
ἀργύρεος of silver,
ἁπλόος simple (feminine
ἁπλέα_).
a. So
χαλκοῦς, -ῆ, -οῦν brazen,
φοινι_κοῦς, -ῆ, -οῦν crimson,
πορφυροῦς, -ᾶ, -οῦν dark red,
σιδηροῦς, -ᾶ, -οῦν of iron,
διπλοῦς, -ῆ, -οῦν twofold, and other multiplicatives in
-πλοῦς (354 b). Compounds of two endings (
288):
εὔνους, -ουν (
εὔνοος)
well disposed,
ἄπλους, -ουν (
ἄπλοος)
not navigable,
εὔρους, -ουν (
εὔροος)
fair-flowing. These have open
οα in the neuter plural.
b. The vocative and dual of contracted adjectives are very rare.
c. Adjectives whose uncontracted form in the nom. sing. has the accent on the antepenult (
χρύ_σεος, πορφύρεος) take in the contracted form a circumflex on their last syllable (
χρυ_σοῦς, πορφυροῦς) by analogy to the gen. and dat. sing. The accent of the nom. dual masculine and neuter is also irregular (
χρυ_σώ, not
χρυ_σῶ).
d. For peculiarities of contraction see
56.
ἁπλῆ is from
ἁπλέα_, not from
ἁπλόη.
e. Some adjectives are not contracted:
ἀργαλέος difficult,
κερδαλέος crafty,
νέος young,
ὄγδοος eighth,
ἀθρόος crowded (usually). (Here
εο and
οο were probably separated originally by
ϝ, 3.)
ADJECTIVES OF THE CONSONANT DECLENSION
[*] 291. Such adjectives as belong only to the consonant declension have two endings. Most such adjectives have stems in
ες (nominative
-ης and
-ες) and
ον (nominative
-ων and
-ον). Under
ον stems fall comparative adjectives, as
βελτί_ων, βέλτι_ον better.
a. There are some compounds with other stems: M. F.
ἀπάτωρ, N.
ἄπατορ fatherless, G.
ἀπάτορος; ἄπολις ἄπολι without a country,
ἀπόλιδος; αὐτοκράτωρ αὐτοκράτορ independent,
αὐτοκράτορος; ἄρρην (older
ἄρσην)
ἄρρεν male,
ἄρρενος; εὔχαρις εὔχαρι agreeable,
εὐχάριτος; εὔελπις εὔελπι hopeful,
εὐέλπιδος. For the acc. of stems in
ιτ and
ιδ see
247. Neut.
εὔχαρι and
εὔελπι for
εὐχαριτ, εὐελπιδ (
133).
[*] 292.
ἀληθής (
ἀληθεσ-)
true,
εὔ-ελπις (
εὐελπιδ-)
hopeful are thus declined:
a. ἄληθες means
indeed! Like
ἀληθής are declined
σαφής clear,
εὐτυχής lucky,
εὐγενής high-born,
ἀσθενής weak,
ἐγκρατής self-restrained,
πλήρης full.
b. The accusative pl.
ἀληθεῖς has the form of the nominative.
c. Compound adjectives in
-ης not accented on the last syllable show recessive accent even in the contracted forms. Thus,
φιλαλήθης lover of truth, neut.
φιλάληθες, αὐτάρκης self-sufficient, neut.
αὔταρκες, gen. pl.
αὐτάρκων, not
αὐταρκῶν.
N.—Except in neuter words in
-ῶδες, -ῶλες, -ῶρες, and
-ῆρες, as
εὐῶδες sweetsmelling,
ποδῆρες reaching to the feet. But
τριήρων, not
τριηρῶν, from
τριήρης, 264.
d. εε（
ς）
α becomes
εα_, not
εη (
56):
εὐκλεᾶ, ἐνδεᾶ for
εὐκλεέα, ἐνδεέα from
εὐκλεής glorious,
ἐνδεής needy (G.
εὐκλεοῦς, ἐνδεοῦς). But
ιε（
ς）
α and
υε（
ς）
α yield
ια_ or
ιη, υα_ or
υη. Thus,
ὑγιᾶ or
ὑγιῆ (
ὑγιής healthy),
εὐφυᾶ or
εὐφυῆ (
εὐφυής comely), cp.
56,
31, 2. The forms in
-ῆ are due to the analogy of such forms as
ἐμφερῆ (
ἐμφερής resembling),
[*] 292 D. The uncontracted forms of
ες stems appear in Hom. and Hdt.
-εϊ and
-εες are, however, sometimes contracted in Hom., and properly should be written
-ει and
-εις in Hdt. The acc. pl. masc. and fem. is
-εας in Hom. and Hdt. From adj. in
-εής Hdt. has
ἐνδέα^ for
ἐνδεέα, Hom.
ἐυκλεῖας for
ἐυκλεέας, ἐυρρεῖος for
ἐυρρεέος.
[*] 293. Stems in
ον:
εὐδαίμων happy,
βελτί_ων better:
a. Like
εὐδαίμων are declined
μνήμων μνῆμον mindful,
ἀγνώμων ἄγνωμον unfeeling,
ἄφρων ἄφρον senseless,
πέπων πέπον ripe,
σώφρων σῶφρον prudent.
b. Like
βελτί_ων are declined
μείζων μεῖζον greater,
κακί_ων κάκι_ον baser,
ἐλά_ττων ἔλα_ττον less.
c. The neuter nominative and accusative have recessive accent.
d. Comparatives are formed from stems in
ον and in
ος; cp. Lat.
meliōris for
meliōs-is.
ος appears in
βελτί_ω for
βελτι_ο（
ς）
-α, acc. sing. masc. fem. and nom. acc. neut. pl., and in
βελτί_ους for
βελτι_ο（
ς）
-ες, nom. pl. masc. fem. The accusative plural borrows the nominative form. Cp. 251 b. The shorter forms were more frequent in everyday speech than in literature.
CONSONANT AND VOWEL DECLENSION COMBINED
[*] 294. Adjectives of the consonant declension having a separate form for the feminine inflect the feminine like a substantive of the first declension ending in
-α^ (
216).
[*] 295. The feminine is made from the stem of the masculine (and neuter) by adding the suffix
-[ιγλιδε]α (
yα), which is combined with the preceding syllable in different ways. The genitive plural feminine is always perispomenon (cp.
208). For the feminine dual, see 287 b.
[*] 296.
Stems in υ (
-υς, -εια, -υ).—The masculine and neuter have the inflection of
πῆχυς and
ἄστυ, except that the genitive singular masculine and neuter ends in
-ος (not
-ως) and
-εα in the neuter plural remains uncontracted.
[*] 296 D. Hom. has usually
-εῖα, -είης, -είῃ, etc.; sometimes
-έα, -έης, -έῃ, etc. The forms without
ι (
43) are regular in Hdt. For
-ύν Hom. has
-έα in
εὐρέα πόντον the wide sea.
ἡδύς and
θῆλυς are sometimes feminine in Hom.
[*] 297.
ἡδύς sweet is thus declined:
So
βαθύς deep,
γλυκύς sweet,
εὐρύς broad,
ὀξύς sharp,
ταχύς swift.
a. In
ἡδεῖα -[ιγλιδε]α has been added to
ἡδεϝ- ῀ ἡδε[υγλιδε]-, a stronger form of the stem
ἡδυ- (cp.
270). The nominative masculine
ἡδεῖς is used for the accusative.
b. The adjectives of this declension are oxytone, except
ἥμισυς half,
θῆλυς female, and some compounds, as
δίπηχυς of two cubits.
[*] 298. Stems in
ν (
-α_ς, -αινα, -αν; -ην, -εινα, -εν).
μέλα_ς black,
τέρην tender are declined as follows:
Like
μέλα_ς is declined one adjective:
τάλα_ς, τάλαινα, τάλαν wretched.
a. μέλα_ς is for
μελαν-ς by 37, 96. With the exception of
μέλα_ς and
τάλα_ς, adjective stems in
ν reject
ς in the nom. sing.
μέλασι for
μελαν-σι 96 a, 250 N. The feminine forms
μέλαινα and
τέρεινα come from
μελαν-[ιγλιδε]α, τερεν-[ιγλιδε]α by 111. The vocatives
μέλαν and
τέρεν are rare, the nominative being used instead.
[*] 299. Stems in
ντ occur in a few adjectives and in many participles (
301).
χαρίεις graceful and
πᾶς all are declined thus:
Like
χαρίεις are inflected
πτερόεις winged,
φωνήεις voiced,
δακρυόεις tearful. Adjectives in
-όεις and
-ήεις are generally poetical or Ionic.
φωνήεντα meaning
vowels is always open.
a. χαρίεις, πᾶς are derived from
χαριεντ-ς, παντ-ς by 100;
χαρίεν from
χαριεντ- by 133. The
α_ of
πᾶν (for
πα^ν（
τ)-) is irregular and borrowed from
πᾶς. Compounds have
α^:
ἅπαν, σύμπαν.
b. From
χαριετ- is derived
χαρίεσσα with
σς, not
ττ, by 114 a.
χαριετ- is a weak form of the stem
χαριεντ-; it appears also in
χαρίεσι for
χαριετ-σι (
98). Participles in
-εις (
307) form the feminine from the strong stem
-εντ ¨ [ιγλιδε]α. πᾶσα stands for
παντσα out of
παντ-[ιγλιδε]α (113 a).
πάντων, πᾶσι are accented contrary to 252; but
παντός, παντί, πα_σῶν are regular.
c. Adjectives in
-όεις contract, as
μελιτοῦς, μελιτοῦττα, μελιτοῦν, G.
μελιτοῦντος, μελιτούττης, etc. (
μελιτόεις honied).
πτερόεις has
πτεροῦντα, πτεροῦσσα. So in names of places:
Ἀργεννοῦσσαι Argennusae for
-όεσσαι; Ῥαμνοῦς, -οῦντος, for
Ῥαμνόεις, -όεντος.
[*] 299 D. Hom. has
αἱματόεσσα bloody,
σκιόεντα shadowy, but
τι_μῆς and
τι_μήεις valuable,
τι_μῆντα and
τι_μήεντα. Doric has sometimes
-ᾶς, -ᾶντος for
-ά_εις, -ά_εντος, as
φωνᾶντα. Attic poetry often has the open forms
-όεις, -όεσσα.
