ἄκμα

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain. Morphologically, the term has been construed as a combination of ἀ- (a-, “non-”) and an element -κμη- (-kmē-), which has itself been related to Ancient Greek κομῶσα (komôsa, “filling”). Beekes alternatively relates the second component to Proto-Indo-European *ḱemh₂-, whence also κάμνω (kámnō).^[1] Another proposal, favored by the linguist Tore Rovs Kristoffersen, suggests that the term may derive from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-kʷm-éh₂, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷem- (“to swallow”).^[2]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ak.maː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ak.ma/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ak.ma/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ak.ma/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ak.ma/

Noun

ᾰ̓κμᾱ • (ăkmā) f (genitive ᾰ̓κμᾱς); first declension (Aeolic)

synonym of νηστεία (nēsteía)

Declension

First declension of ἡ ἄκμᾱ; τῆς ἄκμᾱς (Aeolic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἄκμᾱ hē ákmā	τὼ ἄκμᾱ tṑ ákmā	αἱ ἄκμαι hai ákmai
Genitive	τῆς ἄκμᾱς tês ákmās	τοῖν ἄκμαιν toîn ákmain	τῶν ἀκμῶν tôn akmôn
Dative	τῇ ἄκμᾳ tēî ákmāi	τοῖν ἄκμαιν toîn ákmain	ταῖς ἄκμαις taîs ákmais
Accusative	τὴν ἄκμᾱν tḕn ákmān	τὼ ἄκμᾱ tṑ ákmā	τᾱ̀ς ἄκμᾱς tā̀s ákmās
Vocative	ἄκμᾱ ákmā	ἄκμᾱ ákmā	ἄκμαι ákmai
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

ἄκμηνος (ákmēnos)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἄκμηνος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 52
^ Tore Rovs Kristoffersen (1 October 2022), “A note on Greek ἰκμάς”, in Indogermanische Forschungen‎^[1] (in German), volume 127, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 208-209