ἀκτή

See also: ακτή

Ancient Greek

FWOTD – 10 September 2013

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ak.tɛ̌ː/ → /akˈti/ → /akˈti/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ak.tɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /akˈte̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /akˈti/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /akˈti/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /akˈti/

Etymology 1

Unclear. Derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) is possible according to Frisk, but if Furnée is right in comparing this word with ὄχθη (ókhthē, “riverbank”), it could be a Pre-Greek word.

Noun

ἀκτή • (aktḗ) f (genitive ἀκτῆς); first declension

1. headland, cape, promontory
   • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Women of Trachis 237–238:

     ἀκτή τις ἔστ’ Εὐβοιίς, ἔνθ’ ὁρίζεται
     βωμοὺς τέλη τ’ ἔγκαρπα Κηναίῳ Διί.

     aktḗ tis ést’ Euboiís, énth’ horízetai
     bōmoùs télē t’ énkarpa Kēnaíōi Dií.

     There is a headland of Euboea, where he marks out
     altars and fruitful ground in tribute to Cenaean Zeus.

2. any raised place
   • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 721 (Herbert Weir Smyth, 1926 translation)

     ὦ πότνια χθὼν καὶ πότνι’ ἀκτὴ
     χώματος […]

     ô pótnia khthṑn kaì pótni’ aktḕ
     khṓmatos […]

     O hallowed earth, and hallowed
     barrow raised high […]

Inflection

First declension of ἡ ἀκτή; τῆς ἀκτῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἀκτή hē aktḗ	τὼ ἀκτᾱ́ tṑ aktā́	αἱ ἀκταί hai aktaí
Genitive	τῆς ἀκτῆς tês aktês	τοῖν ἀκταῖν toîn aktaîn	τῶν ἀκτῶν tôn aktôn
Dative	τῇ ἀκτῇ têi aktêi	τοῖν ἀκταῖν toîn aktaîn	ταῖς ἀκταῖς taîs aktaîs
Accusative	τὴν ἀκτήν tḕn aktḗn	τὼ ἀκτᾱ́ tṑ aktā́	τᾱ̀ς ἀκτᾱ́ς tā̀s aktā́s
Vocative	ἀκτή aktḗ	ἀκτᾱ́ aktā́	ἀκταί aktaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: ακτή (aktí)

Etymology 2

Unclear. Perhaps the same as etymology 1.

Noun

ἀκτή • (aktḗ) f (genitive ἀκτῆς); first declension (singular only, uncountable)

1. (poetic) corn (grains of cereal crops)
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 11.630–631:

     […] χάλκειον κάνεον, ἐπὶ δὲ κρόμυον ποτῷ ὄψον,
     ἠδὲ μέλι χλωρόν, παρὰ δ’ ἀλφίτου ἱεροῦ ἀκτήν, […]

     […] khálkeion káneon, epì dè krómuon potôi ópson,
     ēdè méli khlōrón, parà d’ alphítou hieroû aktḗn, […]

     • 1898 translation by Samuel Butler

       […] a vessel of bronze and an onion to give relish to the drink,
       with honey and cakes of barley-meal.

Inflection

First declension of ἡ ἀκτή; τῆς ἀκτῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ ἀκτή hē aktḗ
Genitive	τῆς ἀκτῆς tês aktês
Dative	τῇ ἀκτῇ têi aktêi
Accusative	τὴν ἀκτήν tḕn aktḗn
Vocative	ἀκτή aktḗ
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Further reading

• “ἀκτή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀκτή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἀκτή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἀκτή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀκτή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἀκτή in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • acte idem, page 9.
  • beach idem, page 66.
  • cape idem, page 111.
  • coast idem, page 141.
  • foreland idem, page 336.
  • headland idem, page 391.
  • point idem, page 623.
  • promontory idem, page 653.
  • shore idem, page 768.
• 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