ἀλήθεια

See also: αλήθεια

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ᾰ̓λᾱ́θειᾰ (alā́theia), ᾰ̓λᾱθείᾱ (alātheíā) — Doric
• ἀληθείη (alētheíē) — Epic, Ionic

Etymology

From ἀληθής (alēthḗs, “true”) +‎ -ιᾰ (-ia, abstract noun suffix), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) and λήθω (lḗthō, “I escape notice, I am hidden”) — whence English lethargy (“sluggishness”) — ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂- (“to hide”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.lɛ̌ː.tʰeː.a/ → /aˈli.θi.a/ → /aˈli.θi.a/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.lɛ̌ː.tʰeː.a/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈle̝.tʰi.a/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈli.θi.a/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈli.θi.a/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈli.θi.a/

Noun

ἀλήθεια • (alḗtheia) f (genitive ἀληθείας); first declension

1. not a lie
2. truth
3. (Septuagint, plural form?) the Thummim

Declension

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓λήθειᾰ; τῆς ᾰ̓ληθείᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓λήθειᾰ hē alḗtheia	τὼ ᾰ̓ληθείᾱ tṑ alētheíā	αἱ ᾰ̓λήθειαι hai alḗtheiai
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓ληθείᾱς tês alētheíās	τοῖν ᾰ̓ληθείαιν toîn alētheíain	τῶν ᾰ̓ληθειῶν tôn alētheiôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓ληθείᾳ têi alētheíāi	τοῖν ᾰ̓ληθείαιν toîn alētheíain	ταῖς ᾰ̓ληθείαις taîs alētheíais
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓λήθειᾰν tḕn alḗtheian	τὼ ᾰ̓ληθείᾱ tṑ alētheíā	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓ληθείᾱς tā̀s alētheíās
Vocative	ᾰ̓λήθειᾰ alḗtheia	ᾰ̓ληθείᾱ alētheíā	ᾰ̓λήθειαι alḗtheiai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• English: alethic, alethiology, philalethia
• Greek: αλήθεια (alítheia)

References

• “ἀλήθεια”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀλήθεια”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἀλήθεια in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• ἀλήθεια in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• G225 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • accuracy idem, page 7.
  • authenticity idem, page 53.
  • basis idem, page 64.
  • certainty idem, page 122.
  • fact idem, page 300.
  • foundation idem, page 341.
  • genuineness idem, page 357.
  • reality idem, page 676.
  • sincerity idem, page 777.
  • substance idem, page 832.
  • truth idem, page 899.
  • truthfulness idem, page 899.
  • veracity idem, page 948.
  • verity idem, page 948.