ἀπάτωρ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ἀπάτωρος (apátōros) — regularly declined adjective

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *əpatōr. Equivalent to ἀ- (a-, “-less”) +‎ -πάτωρ (-pátōr, “father”, stem used in compounds). Compare πατήρ (patḗr, “father”).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.pá.tɔːr/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈpa.tor/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈpa.tor/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈpa.tor/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈpa.tor/

Adjective

ἀπάτωρ • (apátōr) m or f (neuter —); third declension

(of deities) Not having a father, without father
- Orphic Hymns, 10 10
- 350 CE – 450 CE, Nonnus, Dionysiaca 41.53
- New Testament, Epistle to the Hebrews 7:3
(of people) Fatherless, orphan
- 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Women of Trachis 300
- 413 BCE, Euripides, Ion 109
- 413 BCE, Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris 864
Disowned or disinherited by one's father
- 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 929a
(with genitive) Without someone as father
- 406 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 1383
Having an unknown father, bastard
- 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, 2 288e

Usage notes

Often paired with ἀμήτωρ (amḗtōr, “motherless”). Neuter plural occurs once in the phrase ἀπάτορα τέκεα (apátora tékea, “fatherless children”).

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ, ἡ ᾰ̓πᾰ́τωρ; τοῦ, τῆς ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ ᾰ̓πᾰ́τωρ ho, hē ăpắtōr	τὼ ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορε tṑ ăpắtore	οἱ, αἱ ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορες hoi, hai ăpắtores
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορος toû, tês ăpắtoros	τοῖν ᾰ̓πᾰτόροιν toîn ăpătóroin	τῶν ᾰ̓πᾰτόρων tôn ăpătórōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορῐ tōî, tēî ăpắtorĭ	τοῖν ᾰ̓πᾰτόροιν toîn ăpătóroin	τοῖς, ταῖς ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορσῐ / ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορσῐν toîs, taîs ăpắtorsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορᾰ tòn, tḕn ăpắtoră	τὼ ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορε tṑ ăpắtore	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορᾰς toùs, tā̀s ăpắtorăs
Vocative	ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορ ăpắtor	ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορε ăpắtore	ᾰ̓πᾰ́τορες ăpắtores
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

(bastard): σκότιος (skótios)

Descendants

⇒ Greek: απάτωρ (apátor)

References

“ἀπάτωρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἀπάτωρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
G540 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- fatherless idem, page 310.
- orphaned idem, page 580.