ὀπίσω

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ὀπῐ́σσω (opĭ́ssō) — Epic
πῐ́σω (pĭ́sō) — Byzantine

Etymology

The usual explanation is to regard the base *ὀπῐ́- (*opĭ́-) < Proto-Hellenic *opí, *opi- < Proto-Indo-European *opí, as an ablaut variant of ἐπῐ́ (epĭ́, from Proto-Indo-European *epí).^[1]^[2] Compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀃𐀠 (o-pi, “on”), Luwian [Term?] (/⁠appi⁠/, “back”), Latin op- (“upon”), Lithuanian api- (“about”).

Dunkel instead derives ὀπῐ́σσω (opĭ́ssō) < Proto-Hellenic *opissō < Proto-Indo-European *op-ityo-o (“back; later”, adverb), from Proto-Indo-European *op-ityo- (“hindmost; rear”, adjective). Compare Hittite [script needed] (appezziya, “later”, adverb) and [script needed] (appezziya-, “hindmost; rear”, adjective). The base is thus Proto-Indo-European *óp, an ablaut variant of *áp (“away; back; after”, adverb); compare Latin ab (“away; from”), which fits much better semantically.^[3]^[4]

For the suffix, compare πρόσσω (próssō), περῐσσός (perĭssós), εἴσω (eísō), and μέτᾰσσαι (métăssai, “those born later”).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /o.pí.sɔː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /oˈpi.so/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /oˈpi.so/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /oˈpi.so/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /oˈpi.so/

Adverb

ὀπῐ́σω • (opĭ́sō)

(of place) backwards
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 12.272
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.218
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.443
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 16.710
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 11.149
- 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.207
- 375 BCE, Plato, The Republic 528A
- c. 518 BCE – 450 BCE, Bacchylides, Collected Works 12.53
- 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Septuagint, Joel 2.20
back; back again by the same way one took
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 7.326
- 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Nemean Ode 3.62
- 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Theocritus, Collected Works 25.74
- 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.62
- 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 8.120
again
- 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.14
- 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 5.92
- 407 BCE, Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis 38
(of time) hereafter
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.160
- c. 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Works and Days 741
- c. 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Theogony 488
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 20.199
- 409 BCE, Sophocles, Philoctetes 1104
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.352
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 11.483
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.343
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.109
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 18.250
- c. 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 24.452
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 1000A.30
- 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus Rex 488
following; yet to come
- 460 BCE – 430 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.75

Derived terms

ἐξοπῐ́σω (exopĭ́sō)
ὄπῐσθεν (ópĭsthen)
ὀπῐσθόδομος (opĭsthódomos)
ὀπῐ́στᾰτος (opĭ́stătos)

Related terms

κᾰτόπῐν (kătópĭn)
ὀψέ (opsé)

Descendants

Byzantine Greek: πίσω (písō)
- Greek: πίσω (píso)
- Mariupol Greek: пи́су (písu)

Preposition

ὀπίσω • (opísō) (governs the genitive)

after
- 70 CE – 90 CE, The Gospel of Matthew 4:19

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “ὄπισθεν (> DER > Further ὀπίσ(σ)ω)”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1091
^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1970), “ὀπίσω”, in Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 2, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, pages 403-4
^ Dunkel, George E. (2014), Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (in German), volume 2: Lexikon, Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, →ISBN, page 70
^ Kloekhorst, Alwin (2008), “āppa”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 5), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN