ἦκα

See also: ἧκα

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain; may reflect a Proto-Indo-European *seh₁k- (“slow”), whence perhaps Latin sēgnis (“slow, tardy”).^[1] May also be related to ἀκή (akḗ, “silence”), ἀκήν (akḗn, “silently”), ἥκιστος (hḗkistos, “least, worst”), ἧσσα (hêssa, “defeat”).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɛ̂ː.ka/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈe̝.ka/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ka/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ka/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈi.ka/

Adverb

ἦκα • (êka)

slightly, a little
softly, gently, smoothly
softly, low (of sound volume)
little by little

Related terms

ἥσσων (hḗssōn)

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἦκα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 512

“ἦκα”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἦκα in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἦκα in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
“ἦκα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
ἦκα, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ἦκα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 512

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