ἀκοστή

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀγοσταί (agostaí)

Etymology

Unknown, maybe substrate. Compare perhaps Proto-Slavic *(j)ęčьmy (“barley”). Beekes rejects a connection to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”) (cf. in particular Latin acus (“bran, awn”), Gothic 𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌰 (ahana, “awn, chaff”), Proto-West Germanic *agil (“awn”)), suggesting instead a foreign origin.

See also ἄχυρον (ákhuron, “chaff, bran; debris, slag”), traditionally linked to the above but now understood to be Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.kos.tɛ̌ː/ → /a.kosˈti/ → /a.kosˈti/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.kos.tɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.kosˈte̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.kosˈti/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.kosˈti/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.kosˈti/

Noun

ἀκοστή • (akostḗ) f (genitive ἀκοστῆς); first declension

1. barley

   Synonym: κριθή (krithḗ)

   • 200 BCE – 100 BCE, Nicander, Alexipharmaca 106

Inflection

First declension of ἡ ἀκοστή; τῆς ἀκοστῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἀκοστή hē akostḗ	τὼ ἀκοστᾱ́ tṑ akostā́	αἱ ἀκοσταί hai akostaí
Genitive	τῆς ἀκοστῆς tês akostês	τοῖν ἀκοσταῖν toîn akostaîn	τῶν ἀκοστῶν tôn akostôn
Dative	τῇ ἀκοστῇ têi akostêi	τοῖν ἀκοσταῖν toîn akostaîn	ταῖς ἀκοσταῖς taîs akostaîs
Accusative	τὴν ἀκοστήν tḕn akostḗn	τὼ ἀκοστᾱ́ tṑ akostā́	τᾱ̀ς ἀκοστᾱ́ς tā̀s akostā́s
Vocative	ἀκοστή akostḗ	ἀκοστᾱ́ akostā́	ἀκοσταί akostaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

References

• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἀκοστή”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 55
• “ἀκοστή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press