βῆσσα

See also: Βῆσσα

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• βᾶσσα (bâssa) — Doric

Etymology

Traditionally it has been connected with βαθύς (bathús, “deep”), as an e-grade root variant but Furnée doesn't dismiss a Pre-Greek origin and links the noun to the gloss βρῆσσαι (brêssai) found in Hesychius.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /bɛ̂ːs.sa/ → /ˈβis.sa/ → /ˈvi.sa/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bɛ̂ːs.sa/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈbe̝s.sa/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈβis.sa/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈvis.sa/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈvi.sa/

Noun

βῆσσᾰ • (bêssa) f (genitive βήσσης); first declension

1. wooded combe, glen
2. kind of drinking cup used in Egypt

Inflection

First declension of ἡ βῆσσᾰ; τῆς βήσσης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ βῆσσᾰ hē bêssa	τὼ βήσσᾱ tṑ bḗssā	αἱ βῆσσαι hai bêssai
Genitive	τῆς βήσσης tês bḗssēs	τοῖν βήσσαιν toîn bḗssain	τῶν βησσῶν tôn bēssôn
Dative	τῇ βήσσῃ têi bḗssēi	τοῖν βήσσαιν toîn bḗssain	ταῖς βήσσαις taîs bḗssais
Accusative	τὴν βῆσσᾰν tḕn bêssan	τὼ βήσσᾱ tṑ bḗssā	τᾱ̀ς βήσσᾱς tā̀s bḗssās
Vocative	βῆσσᾰ bêssa	βήσσᾱ bḗssā	βῆσσαι bêssai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• βησσήεις (bēssḗeis)
• Βῆσσᾰ (Bêssa)

 

Further reading

• “βῆσσα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• βῆσσα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βῆσσα in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “βῆσσα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 212