Noun – 3rd Declension -ηρ/ωρ

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The morphology of 3rd declension nouns ending in -ηρ/ωρ
• The semantics of the genitive in temporal constructions

VocabularyVocabulary

Note-ηρ

• All accents are circumflex except nom sg (where σ drops) and gen pl (with long ending)

Note-ερ

• Nouns with a stem ending in -ερ look like -ηρ nouns in nom sg; ε lengthens to η when the σ drops out, e.g. πατέρ-ς → πατήρ.
• The ε drops out in the gen sg and dat sg/pl.
• An α is added in the dat pl between the stem and ending.

• χείρ ‘hand’ has no stem changes except for dat pl (χερσίν)

Note-ορ

• The stem of -ωρ nouns ends in -ορ
• In the nom sg, the ο lengthens to ω when the σ drops out, e.g. ῥήτορ-ς → ῥήτωρ

SemanticsSemantics: Noun – Genitive (4 – Temporal)

Noun – Genitive: all 5 parts on one page →Also in Lesson 3.2, Lesson 7.2, Lesson 26.3, Lesson 40.2

The genitive can be used in a temporal phrase to refer to the nature of the time when an eventuality took place:

This use of the genitive is almost always found with the words νυκτός and ἡμέρας. The reason is that these words do not refer to mere temporal intervals, but to temporal intervals with certain qualities. Generic words like χρόνος ‘time’ are not used in this kind of construction because they do not refer to a time interval with a quality. The common phrase νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ‘night and day’ amounts to ‘all the time,’ since a given time period must necessarily be in the nighttime or the daytime.