ὅσπερ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ὅς (hós) + περ (per).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /hós.per/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)os.per/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈos.per/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈos.per/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈos.per/

Pronoun

ὅσπερ • (hósper)

the very man who, the very thing which
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 4.524
- 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 13.101
1. (used after adjectives of resemblance)
  - 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 8.42
  - 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 1499
  - 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Anabasis 5.4.34
  - 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.74
(several cases are used absolutely)
1. (ὅπερ) wherefore
  - 36 BCE – 30 BCE, Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library 13.18
  - 50 CE – 250 CE, Apollonius Dyscolus, On Pronouns 103.7
2. (ἅπερ) as, like
  - 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers 381
  - 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Eumenides 131
  - 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Eumenides 660
  - 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Ajax 168
  - 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 175
  - 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Hellenica 5.1.18
3. (οὗπερ)
4. (ᾗπερ) which way, where, whither
  - 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.41
  - 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 12.33
  - 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Anabasis 6.5.10
  - 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.30
  - 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 7.286
  - 458 BCE, Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers 440
  - 446 BCE – 386 BCE, Aristophanes, The Acharnians 364
  - 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 9.310
  - 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Memorabilia 3.8.2
5. (logic, ὅπερ ἐστί, ὅπερ ἦν, used to denote the essence)
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Categories 3B.36
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Categories 6A.39
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Topics 120B.23
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Topics 116A.27
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1153B.6
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Posterior Analytics 83A.24
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 1030A.3
  - 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Posterior Analytics 89A.35

Inflection

Irregular declension of ὅσπερ; ἥπερ; ὅπερ (Attic)

Number	Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ὅσπερ hósper	ἥπερ hḗper	ὅπερ hóper	ὥπερ hṓper	ᾱ̔́περ hā́per	ὥπερ hṓper	οἵπερ hoíper	αἵπερ haíper	ᾰ̔́περ hắper
Genitive	οὗπερ hoûper	ἧσπερ hêsper	οὗπερ hoûper	οἷνπερ hoînper	αἷνπερ haînper	οἷνπερ hoînper	ὧνπερ hônper	ὧνπερ hônper	ὧνπερ hônper
Dative	ᾧπερ hōîper	ᾗπερ hēîper	ᾧπερ hōîper	οἷνπερ hoînper	αἷνπερ haînper	οἷνπερ hoînper	οἷσπερ hoîsper	αἷσπερ haîsper	οἷσπερ hoîsper
Accusative	ὅνπερ hónper	ἥνπερ hḗnper	ὅπερ hóper	ὥπερ hṓper	ᾱ̔́περ hā́per	ὥπερ hṓper	οὕσπερ hoúsper	ᾱ̔́σπερ hā́sper	ᾰ̔́περ hắper
Vocative	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

References

“ὅσπερ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ὅσπερ”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
“ὅσπερ”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
ὅσπερ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
“ὅσπερ”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
G3746 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.
- which idem, page 976.
- who idem, page 977.