ἀπολογία

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ᾰ̓πο- (ăpo-, “back”) +‎ λόγος (lógos, “speech”) +‎ -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, abstract noun–forming suffix).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.po.lo.ɡí.aː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.po.loˈɡi.a/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.po.loˈʝi.a/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.po.loˈʝi.a/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.po.loˈʝi.a/

Noun

ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ • (ăpologĭ́ā) f (genitive ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱς); first declension (Attic, Koine)

a speech made in defense of something; apology
ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱν ποιεῖσθαι
ăpologĭ́ān poieîsthai
to make a defense
- 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 3.61.1:
  Τοὺς μὲν λόγους οὐκ ἂν ᾐτησάμεθα εἰπεῖν, εἰ καὶ αὐτοὶ βραχέως τὸ ἐρωτηθὲν ἀπεκρίναντο καὶ μὴ ἐπὶ ἡμᾶς τραπόμενοι κατηγορίαν ἐποιήσαντο καὶ περὶ αὑτῶν ἔξω τῶν προκειμένων καὶ ἅμα οὐδὲ ᾐτιαμένων πολλὴν τὴν ἀπολογίαν καὶ ἔπαινον ὧν οὐδεὶς ἐμέμψατο.
  Toùs mèn lógous ouk àn ēitēsámetha eipeîn, ei kaì autoì brakhéōs tò erōtēthèn apekrínanto kaì mḕ epì hēmâs trapómenoi katēgorían epoiḗsanto kaì perì hautôn éxō tôn prokeiménōn kaì háma oudè ēitiaménōn pollḕn tḕn apologían kaì épainon hôn oudeìs emémpsato.
  1881 translation by Benjamin Jowett
  We should never have asked to speak, if the Plataeans had briefly answered the question which was put to them, and had not turned upon us and arraigned us while they made a long and irrelevant defence of their own doings, excusing themselves from charges which nobody brought against them, and praising what nobody blamed.
- 400 BCE – 387 BCE, Plato, Apology 28a:
  ἀλλὰ γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, ὡς μὲν ἐγὼ οὐκ ἀδικῶ κατὰ τὴν Μελήτου γραφήν, οὐ πολλῆς μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι ἀπολογίας, ἀλλὰ ἱκανὰ καὶ ταῦτα
  allà gár, ô ándres Athēnaîoi, hōs mèn egṑ ouk adikô katà tḕn Melḗtou graphḗn, ou pollês moi dokeî eînai apologías, allà hikanà kaì taûta
  1966 translation by Harold North Fowler
  Well then, men of Athens, that I am not a wrongdoer according to Meletus's indictment, seems to me not to need much of a defence, but what has been said is enough
- New Testament, Epistle to the Philippians 1:16:
  ὅτι εἰς ἀπολογίαν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου κεῖμαι
  hóti eis apologían toû euangelíou keîmai
  because I am here for the defense of the gospel

Declension

First declension of ἡ ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ; τῆς ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ hē ăpologĭ́ā	τὼ ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ tṑ ăpologĭ́ā	αἱ ᾰ̓πολογῐ́αι hai ăpologĭ́ai
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱς tês ăpologĭ́ās	τοῖν ᾰ̓πολογῐ́αιν toîn ăpologĭ́ain	τῶν ᾰ̓πολογῐῶν tôn ăpologĭôn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾳ tēî ăpologĭ́āi	τοῖν ᾰ̓πολογῐ́αιν toîn ăpologĭ́ain	ταῖς ᾰ̓πολογῐ́αις taîs ăpologĭ́ais
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱν tḕn ăpologĭ́ān	τὼ ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ tṑ ăpologĭ́ā	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱς tā̀s ăpologĭ́ās
Vocative	ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ ăpologĭ́ā	ᾰ̓πολογῐ́ᾱ ăpologĭ́ā	ᾰ̓πολογῐ́αι ăpologĭ́ai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Antonyms

κᾰτηγορῐ́ᾱ (kătēgorĭ́ā)

Descendants

Greek: απολογία (apología)
→ Bulgarian: апология (apologija)
→ Latin: apologia (see there for further descendants)
→ Macedonian: апологија (apologija)
→ Russian: апология (apologija)
→ Serbo-Croatian: апологија, apologija

References

“ἀπολογία”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press