ὀρφώς

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ὄρφος (órphos), ὀρφώ (orphṓ), ὀρφών (orphṓn), ὀρφῶς (orphôs)

Etymology

Unknown. Formation like the fish names λαγώς (lagṓs) and ἀχαρνώς (akharnṓs). Often compared to ὄρφνη (órphnē, “darkness of night”), with reference to the color, but unclear in detail. Connected with ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”) by Bechtel, but without semantic argumentation; perhaps because of its solitary way of life.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /or.pʰɔ̌ːs/ → /orˈɸos/ → /orˈfos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /or.pʰɔ̌ːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /orˈpʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /orˈɸos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /orˈfos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /orˈfos/

Noun

ὀρφώς • (orphṓs) m (genitive ὀρφώ); second declension

1. dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus)

Inflection

Attic second declension of ὁ ὀρφώς; τοῦ ὀρφώ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ὀρφώς ho orphṓs	τὼ ὀρφώ tṑ orphṓ	οἱ ὀρφῴ hoi orphṓi
Genitive	τοῦ ὀρφώ toû orphṓ	τοῖν ὀρφῴν toîn orphṓin	τῶν ὀρφών tôn orphṓn
Dative	τῷ ὀρφῴ tôi orphṓi	τοῖν ὀρφῴν toîn orphṓin	τοῖς ὀρφῴς toîs orphṓis
Accusative	τὸν ὀρφώ / ὀρφών tòn orphṓ(n)	τὼ ὀρφώ tṑ orphṓ	τοὺς ὀρφώς toùs orphṓs
Vocative	ὀρφώς orphṓs	ὀρφώ orphṓ	ὀρφῴ orphṓi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ὀρφακίνη (orphakínē)
• ὀρφεύς (orpheús)
• ὀρφίσκος (orphískos)

 

Descendants

• Greek: ροφός (rofós)
• → Latin: orphus
  • → German: Orfe
    • → English: orfe

Further reading

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