ἀτελής

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἀ- (a-, “un-”) +‎ τέλος (télos, “end”) +‎ -ής (-ḗs, adjective suffix).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.te.lɛ̌ːs/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /a.teˈle̝s/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /a.teˈlis/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /a.teˈlis/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /a.teˈlis/

Adjective

ἀτελής • (atelḗs) m or f (neuter ἀτελές); third declension

without end
1. not brought to an end or issue, unaccomplished
  - 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 17.546
  - 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Hellenica 4.8.15
2. incomplete, unfinished
  - 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Fragments 227
  - 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Electra 1012
  - 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 8.12
  - 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 8.40
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 1.8.12
3. inchoate, imperfect
  - 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates of Kos, On Joints 807
  - 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 495C
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Generation of Animals 2.1.14
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Generation of Animals 4.6.1
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 3.1.5
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Prior Analytics 1.1.7
  - 125 CE – 200 CE, Lucian, The Syrian Goddess 20
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 3.1.5
  - 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Moralia 2.472F
4. neverending, endless
  - 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Philebus 24B
(active voice) not bringing to an end, not accomplishing one's purpose
- 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Nemean Ode 3.74
- 385 BCE – 380 BCE, Plato, Symposium 179D
- 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Phaedrus 248B
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 3.11.9
- Philo 2.417
- 440 BCE – 390 BCE, Andocides, Collected Works 30.12
1. not giving accomplishment to a thing
  - 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Pythian Ode 5.83
free from tax or tribute, scot-free
- 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.168
- 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.91
- 445 BCE – 380 BCE, Lysias, Collected Works 908.3
- 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.192
- 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 6.46
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes 565.4
- 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes 568.11
- Inscriptiones Graecae 2737.6, (Compare Aristotle Politics 2.9,18)
1. (of things) untaxed, tax-free
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes 917.26
2. (of sums) without charge or deduction, net, clear
  - 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, de Vectigalibus 4.14
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Demosthenes 816.8
  - Inscriptiones Graecae 2556.23
3. not costly
  - 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Fragments 248
uninitiated
- 7th–6th centuries BC, Homeric Hymn to Demeter 481

Inflection

Third declension of ἀτελής; ἀτελές (contracted, Attic)

Number	Singular		Dual		Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter	Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ἀτελής atelḗs	ἀτελές atelés	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελεῖς ateleîs	ἀτελῆ atelê
Genitive	ἀτελοῦς ateloûs	ἀτελοῦς ateloûs	ἀτελοῖν ateloîn	ἀτελοῖν ateloîn	ἀτελῶν atelôn	ἀτελῶν atelôn
Dative	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελοῖν ateloîn	ἀτελοῖν ateloîn	ἀτελέσῐ / ἀτελέσῐν atelésĭ(n)	ἀτελέσῐ / ἀτελέσῐν atelésĭ(n)
Accusative	ἀτελῆ atelê	ἀτελές atelés	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελεῖς ateleîs	ἀτελῆ atelê
Vocative	ἀτελές atelés	ἀτελές atelés	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελεῖ ateleî	ἀτελεῖς ateleîs	ἀτελῆ atelê
Derived forms	Adverb		Comparative		Superlative
Derived forms	ἀτελῶς atelôs		ἀτελέστερος atelésteros		ἀτελέστᾰτος ateléstătos
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

References

“ἀτελής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἀτελής”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ἀτελής”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἀτελής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἀτελής in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἀτελής in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
“ἀτελής”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- clear idem, page 136.
- crude idem, page 187.
- exempt idem, page 290.
- fragmentary idem, page 342.
- immature idem, page 417.
- imperfect idem, page 420.
- incomplete idem, page 429.
- net idem, page 556.
- unaccomplished idem, page 906.
- unconsummated idem, page 911.
- undeveloped idem, page 914.
- undone idem, page 915.
- unfinished idem, page 918.
- unfulfilled idem, page 919.
- unperformed idem, page 927.
- unsuccessful idem, page 933.