ὄψον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Nominal derivative from an unattested *ὄψ (*óps), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁op-s, a derivative of *h₁epi (“on, near”); delicacies were considered side-dishes and were eaten on top of bread and such. See also ὀψέ (opsé, “late, long after”), Latin obs- (“towards, against”).^[1]

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /óp.son/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈop.son/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈop.son/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈop.son/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈop.son/

Noun

ὄψον • (ópson) n (genitive ὄψου); second declension

delicacies, considered an integral component of an Ancient Greek meal; anything cooked/boiled and eaten with bread or sauce or as relish
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 11.629-631
  
  αὐτὰρ ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς
  
  χάλκειον κάνεον, ἐπὶ δὲ κρόμυον ποτῷ ὄψον,
  
  ἠδὲ μέλι χλωρόν,

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ὄψον; τοῦ ὄψου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ὄψον tò ópson	τὼ ὄψω tṑ ópsō	τᾰ̀ ὄψᾰ tằ ópsă
Genitive	τοῦ ὄψου toû ópsou	τοῖν ὄψοιν toîn ópsoin	τῶν ὄψων tôn ópsōn
Dative	τῷ ὄψῳ tōî ópsōi	τοῖν ὄψοιν toîn ópsoin	τοῖς ὄψοις toîs ópsois
Accusative	τὸ ὄψον tò ópson	τὼ ὄψω tṑ ópsō	τᾰ̀ ὄψᾰ tằ ópsă
Vocative	ὄψον ópson	ὄψω ópsō	ὄψᾰ ópsă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ὀψάριον (opsárion)
ὀψοφόρος (opsophóros)
ὀψωνέω (opsōnéō)

Descendants

→ English: opson

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ὄψον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1139-40

“ὄψον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ὄψον”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ὄψον”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ὄψον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ὄψον in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
“ὄψον”, 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.
- condiment idem, page 157.
- dainty idem, page 193.
- delicacy idem, page 207.
- dish idem, page 234.
- morsel idem, page 541.
- relish idem, page 691.
- sauce idem, page 735.
- savoury idem, page 736.
- seasoning idem, page 746.
- sop idem, page 794.
- succulent idem, page 834.
- toothsome idem, page 881.

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ὄψον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1139-40

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