ἔδαφος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Probably from ἕδος (hédos, “seat”) + a suffix -(α)φος (-(a)phos), though Beekes expresses some doubt, perhaps due to the strange morphology of the suffix.^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /é.da.pʰos/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈe.da.pʰos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ða.ɸos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ða.fos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ða.fos/

Noun

ἔδᾰφος • (édăphos) n (genitive ἐδάφους); third declension

bottom, foundation, base
floor, ground

Declension

Third declension of τὸ ἔδᾰφος; τοῦ ἐδᾰ́φους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ἔδᾰφος tò édăphos	τὼ ἐδᾰ́φει tṑ edắphei	τᾰ̀ ἐδᾰ́φη tằ edắphē
Genitive	τοῦ ἐδᾰ́φους toû edắphous	τοῖν ἐδᾰφοῖν toîn edăphoîn	τῶν ἐδᾰφῶν tôn edăphôn
Dative	τῷ ἐδᾰ́φει tōî edắphei	τοῖν ἐδᾰφοῖν toîn edăphoîn	τοῖς ἐδᾰ́φεσῐ / ἐδᾰ́φεσῐν toîs edắphesĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ ἔδᾰφος tò édăphos	τὼ ἐδᾰ́φει tṑ edắphei	τᾰ̀ ἐδᾰ́φη tằ edắphē
Vocative	ἔδᾰφος édăphos	ἐδᾰ́φει edắphei	ἐδᾰ́φη edắphē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ἐδαφίζω (edaphízō)
ἐδαφικός (edaphikós)
ἐδάφιον (edáphion)
ἐδαφόω (edaphóō)

Descendants

Greek: έδαφος (édafos)
→ English: edaphic, edaphism, edaphon, edaphology, edaphosaurus
→ Irish: eidifeolaíocht
→ Translingual: Edaphus

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἔδαφος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 373

“ἔδαφος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ἔδαφος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἔδαφος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
ἔδαφος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
“ἔδαφος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
G1475 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.
- base idem, page 64.
- bed idem, page 68.
- bottom idem, page 90.
- floor idem, page 329.
- foot idem, page 333.
- foundation idem, page 341.
- ground idem, page 375.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἔδαφος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 373

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