Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon

A.fitting, meet, suitable, τύμβον οὐ μάλα πολλὸν . . , ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιεικέα τοῖον not very large but meet in size, Il.23.246; τείσουσι βοῶν ἐπιεικέ᾽ ἀμοιβήν a fair recompense for them, Od.12.382.—Elsewh. Hom. has only the neut. ἐπιεικές, either in the phrase ὡς ἐπιεικές as is meet, Il.19.147, 23.537, Od.8.389: or c.inf., ὅν κ᾽ ἐπιεικὲς ἀκουέμεν whom it may be meet for you to hear, Il.1.547; ὅπλα . . οἷ᾽ ἐπιεικὲς ἔργ᾽ ἔμεν ἀθανάτων such as is meet they should be, 19.21, cf. 23.50, Od.2.207.

II.. after Hom.,

1.. of statements, rights, etc.,

a.. reasonable, specious, ἡ δὲ τρίτη τῶν ὁδῶν πολλὸν ἐπιεικεστάτη ἐοῦσα μάλιστα “ἔψευσται” Hdt.2.22; “ἐ. πρόφασις” Th.3.9; “λόγος” Pl.Ti.67d; ἐπιεικῆ “λέγειν” Id.Ap.34d; ἐ. ὁδός a tolerable road, Plu.Crass.22.

b.. opp. δίκαιος, fair, equitable, not according to the letter of the law, ἐπανόρθωμα “νομίμου δικαίου” Arist.EN1137b11, cf. Rh.1374a26; τῶν δικαίων τὰ “ἐπιεικέστερα προτιθεῖσι” Hdt.3.53; οὔτε τοὐπ. οὔτε τὴν χάριν οἶδεν, “μόνην δ᾽ ἔστερξε τὴν ἁπλῶς δίκην” S.Fr.770, cf. E.Fr.645; συγχωρεῖν “τἀπιεικῆ τινι” Ar.Nu.1438; “ἐπιεικέστερον ἢ δικαιότερον” Antipho 2.2.13; “ἐ. ὁμολογία” Th.3.4; “γνώμη” Ar.V.1027; “τὸ ἐ. καὶ σύγγνωμον” Pl.Lg. 757e; πρὸς τὸ ἐ., = ἐπιεικῶς 3, Th.4.19.

2.. of persons, able, capable, “παῖς τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐ., ἄφωνος δέ” Hdt.1.85; “οἱ ἐπιεικέστατοι τῶν τριηράρχων” X.HG1.1.30; τίνες . . τῶν νέων ἐπίδοξοι γενέσθαι ἐ. may be expected to turn out well, Pl.Tht.143d, cf. Lg.957a; τοὺς ἐ. καὶ τοῦ δήμου “καὶ τῶν εὐπόρων” Arist.Ath.26.1.

b.. in moral sense, reasonable, fair, good, ἐ. τὴν ψυχήν, φύσει, Pl.Smp.210b, R.538c: abs., Th.8.93, Isoc.1.48, Ep.Jac.3.17, etc.; ἐ. ἄνδρες, opp. μοχθηροί, Arist.Po. 1452b34; “ἐ. περὶ τὰ συμβόλαια” D.34.30; τοὐπιεικές fairness, goodness, S.OC1127.

c.. with social or political connotation, the upper or educated classes, “λέγω ἀντικεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐ. τῷ πλήθει” Arist.Pol. 1308b27, cf. Ath.28.1.

III.. Adv. -κῶς, Ion. -κέως, fairly, tolerably, moderately, ἐγγλύσσει ἐ. Hdt.2.92; ἐ. δάκνειν, παρρησίαν ἄγειν, Phld.Lib.pp.13,45 O.; ἐ. ἔχειν to be pretty well, Hp.Coac.368; ἐ. “ἐξεπίστασθαι” Ar.V.1249; “ἔστι τὸ χωρίον ἐ. ἰσχυρόν” Hell.Oxy.13.5; “ἐ. ἀναίσθητον” Arist.GC319b20; “ἐ. πλατύ” Id.HA495b27, cf. 497a23; οἱ πυρετοὶ ἐς τεταρταῖον ἐ. μεθίστανται about the fourth day, Hp.Coac. 140, cf. Alex.281; ἐ. τὸ τρίτον μέρος pretty nearly, about, Plb.6.26.8; ἐ. οἷοί τε ἦσαν κατέχειν were fairly well able . . , Pl.Phd.117c; ἐ. μὲν . . perhaps, Id.Grg.493c.

2.. probably, reasonably, Id.R.431e, etc.: Sup. -έστατα, γενέσθαι most suitably, Id.Lg.753b.

3.. with moderation, mildly, kindly, “οὐκ ἐ. ἐντυγχάνων οὐδὲ πρᾴως” Plu.Pyrrh.23; ἐ. “ἔχειν πρός τινα” Isoc.15.4: Comp. “-έστερον, διακείμενοι” Id.8.61.

4.. generally, usually, Plu.Pel.18, Jul.Mis.348c, Lib.Or.11.19, al.