ἀπραξία

See also: απραξία and ἀπραξίᾳ

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 10 July 2023

Etymology

From ᾰ̓- (a-, “un-, in-, non-”) +‎ πρᾶξῐς (prâxis, “doing, action”) +‎ -ῐ́ᾱ (-íā, abstract noun suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.praːk.sí.aː/ → /a.prakˈsi.a/ → /a.prakˈsi.a/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.praːk.sí.aː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.prakˈsi.a/

Noun

ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ • (aprāxíā) f (genitive ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς); first declension

1. nonaction

   Synonym: ᾰ̓πρᾱγῐ́ᾱ (aprāgíā, concrete noun)

   • 408 BCE, Euripides, Orestes 426:

     Οὔπω· τὸ μέλλον δ᾽ ῐ̓́σον ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾳ λέγω.

     Oúpō; tò méllon d᾽ íson aprāxíāi légō.

     Not yet; but I speak of the future as equal to not acting.

   • 360 BCE, Plato, The Sophist 262c:

      […]· οὐδεμῐ́ᾰν γᾰ̀ρ οὔτε οὕτως οὔτ᾽ ἐκείνως πρᾶξῐν οὐδ᾽ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱν οὐδὲ οὐσῐ́ᾱν ὄντος οὐδὲ μὴ ὄντος δηλοῖ τᾰ̀ φωνηθέντᾰ, πρὶν ᾰ̓́ν τῐς τοῖς ὀνόμᾰσῐ τᾰ̀ ῥήμᾰτᾰ κερᾰ́σῃ.

      […]; oudemían gàr oúte hoútōs oút᾽ ekeínōs prâxin oud᾽ aprāxíān oudè ousíān óntos oudè mḕ óntos dēloî tà phōnēthénta, prìn án tis toîs onómasi tà rhḗmata kerásēi.

2. leisure, rest from business
   • 342 BCE – 290 BCE, Menander, 633
   • 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Sulla 8
3. lack of success; futility
   • 389 BCE – 314 BCE, Aeschines, Against Timarchus 188
   • 110 BCE – 35 BCE, Philodemus, On Rhetoric 1.38S

Inflection

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ; τῆς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ hē aprāxíā	τὼ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ tṑ aprāxíā	αἱ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αι hai aprāxíai
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς tês aprāxíās	τοῖν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αιν toîn aprāxíain	τῶν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐῶν tôn aprāxiôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾳ têi aprāxíāi	τοῖν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αιν toîn aprāxíain	ταῖς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αις taîs aprāxíais
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱν tḕn aprāxíān	τὼ ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ tṑ aprāxíā	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱς tā̀s aprāxíās
Vocative	ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ aprāxíā	ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́ᾱ aprāxíā	ᾰ̓πρᾱξῐ́αι aprāxíai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

• πρᾱ́σσω (prā́ssō)
• ᾰ̓́πρᾱγος (áprāgos)
• ᾰ̓πρᾱγῐ́ᾱ (aprāgíā)
• ᾰ̓πρᾱκτέω (aprāktéō)
• ᾰ̓́πρᾱκτος (áprāktos)

 

Descendants

• → English: apraxia
• → Greek: απραξία (apraxía)

References

• “ἀπραξία”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press