οὐραῖος

Ancient Greek

Etymology 1

From οὐρά (ourá, “tail”) +‎ -αῖος (-aîos, adjective suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /uː.râi̯.os/ → /uˈrɛ.os/ → /uˈre.os/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /uː.râi̯.os/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /uˈrɛ.os/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /uˈrɛ.os/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /uˈre.os/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /uˈre.os/

Adjective

οὐραῖος • (ouraîos) m (feminine οὐραίᾱ, neuter οὐραῖον); first/second declension

1. of the tail

Declension

First and second declension of οὐραῖος; οὐραίᾱ; οὐραῖον (Attic)

Number		Singular				Dual				Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		οὐραῖος ouraîos	οὐραίᾱ ouraíā	οὐραῖον ouraîon		οὐραίω ouraíō	οὐραίᾱ ouraíā	οὐραίω ouraíō		οὐραῖοι ouraîoi	οὐραῖαι ouraîai	οὐραῖᾰ ouraîa
Genitive		οὐραίου ouraíou	οὐραίᾱς ouraíās	οὐραίου ouraíou		οὐραίοιν ouraíoin	οὐραίαιν ouraíain	οὐραίοιν ouraíoin		οὐραίων ouraíōn	οὐραίων ouraíōn	οὐραίων ouraíōn
Dative		οὐραίῳ ouraíōi	οὐραίᾳ ouraíāi	οὐραίῳ ouraíōi		οὐραίοιν ouraíoin	οὐραίαιν ouraíain	οὐραίοιν ouraíoin		οὐραίοις ouraíois	οὐραίαις ouraíais	οὐραίοις ouraíois
Accusative		οὐραῖον ouraîon	οὐραίᾱν ouraíān	οὐραῖον ouraîon		οὐραίω ouraíō	οὐραίᾱ ouraíā	οὐραίω ouraíō		οὐραίους ouraíous	οὐραίᾱς ouraíās	οὐραῖᾰ ouraîa
Vocative		οὐραῖε ouraîe	οὐραίᾱ ouraíā	οὐραῖον ouraîon		οὐραίω ouraíō	οὐραίᾱ ouraíā	οὐραίω ouraíō		οὐραῖοι ouraîoi	οὐραῖαι ouraîai	οὐραῖᾰ ouraîa
Derived forms		Adverb				Comparative				Superlative
		οὐραίως ouraíōs				οὐραιότερος ouraióteros				οὐραιότᾰτος ouraiótatos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Etymology 2

Traditionally assumed to be from Egyptian jꜥrt (“cobra in threat posture”), , from jꜥr (“to rise, climb”); however, on phonetic grounds, Gundacker, following Fecht, argues for an origin in Egyptian wrrt (“White Crown, uraeus”, literally “the great one”) instead.

Alternative forms

• *οὐβαῖος (*oubaîos) (The accusative form οὐβαῖον appears as a hapax legomenon in some copies of Horapollo's Hieroglyphica. Appears to be typographical error, but cf. Coptic ⲟⲃⲓⲟⲛ (obion).)

Noun

οὐραῖος • (ouraîos) m (genitive οὐραίου); second declension

1. uraeus, sacred asp

Declension

Second declension of ὁ οὐραῖος; τοῦ οὐραίου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ οὐραῖος ho ouraîos	τὼ οὐραίω tṑ ouraíō	οἱ οὐραῖοι hoi ouraîoi
Genitive	τοῦ οὐραίου toû ouraíou	τοῖν οὐραίοιν toîn ouraíoin	τῶν οὐραίων tôn ouraíōn
Dative	τῷ οὐραίῳ tôi ouraíōi	τοῖν οὐραίοιν toîn ouraíoin	τοῖς οὐραίοις toîs ouraíois
Accusative	τὸν οὐραῖον tòn ouraîon	τὼ οὐραίω tṑ ouraíō	τοὺς οὐραίους toùs ouraíous
Vocative	οὐραῖε ouraîe	οὐραίω ouraíō	οὐραῖοι ouraîoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Latin: ūraeus

Further reading

• “οὐραῖος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “οὐραῖος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• οὐραῖος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette