Ὀρφεύς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain, but a link to Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos has been proposed, suggesting a common origin with Sanskrit अर्भ (árbha), Latin orbus (“orphaned”), Old High German erbi, arbi (German Erbe (“heir”)), and Old English ierfa (“heir”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /or.pʰěu̯s/ → /orˈɸeɸs/ → /orˈfefs/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /or.pʰěu̯s/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /orˈpʰews/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /orˈɸeɸs/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /orˈfefs/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /orˈfefs/

Proper noun

Ὀρφεύς • (Orpheús) m (genitive Ὀρφέως); third declension

1. Orpheus

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ Ὀρφεύς; τοῦ Ὀρφέως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Ὀρφεύς ho Orpheús
Genitive	τοῦ Ὀρφέως toû Orphéōs
Dative	τῷ Ὀρφεῖ tôi Orpheî
Accusative	τὸν Ὀρφέᾱ tòn Orphéā
Vocative	Ὀρφεῦ Orpheû
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of Ὀρφεύς; Ὀρφῆος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	Ὀρφεύς Orpheús
Genitive	Ὀρφῆος / Ὀρφέος Orphêos / Orphéos
Dative	Ὀρφῆῐ̈ / Ὀρφέῐ̈ Orphêï / Orphéï
Accusative	Ὀρφῆᾰ / Ὀρφέᾰ Orphêa / Orphéa
Vocative	Ὀρφεῦ Orpheû
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Third declension of ὁ Ὀρφεύς; τοῦ Ὀρφέος (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Ὀρφεύς ho Orpheús
Genitive	τοῦ Ὀρφέος toû Orphéos
Dative	τῷ Ὀρφέῐ̈ / Ὀρφεῖ tôi Orphéï / Orpheî
Accusative	τὸν Ὀρφέᾰ tòn Orphéa
Vocative	Ὀρφεῦ Orpheû
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• Ὀρφῐκός (Orphikós)
• Ὄρφειος (Órpheios)

Descendants

• Greek: Ορφεύς (Orféfs)
• Latin: Orpheus

Further reading

• “Ὀρφεύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ὀρφεύς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “Ὀρφεύς”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,019
• Ὀρφεύς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette