ἀρά

See also: άρα, -άρα, ἄρα, ἆρα, and Appendix:Variations of "ara"

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀ̄ρή (ārḗ) — Ionic

Etymology

Arcadocypriot Greek καταρϝος (katarwos, “cursed”) suggests a preform Proto-Hellenic *arwā, which makes Attic -ᾱ hard to explain; -η would be expected after *w. Not cognate with Latin āra (“altar”). Possibly related to Hittite [Term?] (/⁠aruwae-⁠/, “to bow”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /a.rǎː/ → /aˈra/ → /aˈra/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /a.rǎː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /aˈra/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /aˈra/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /aˈra/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /aˈra/

Noun

ἀ̆ρά̄ • (ará̄) f (genitive ἀ̆ρᾶς); first declension

1. prayer, invocation
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 15.378:

     Ὣς ἔφατ’ εὐχόμενος, μέγα δ’ ἔκτυπε μητίετα Ζεύς, ἀράων ἀΐων Νηληϊάδαο γέροντος.

     Hṑs éphat’ eukhómenos, méga d’ éktupe mētíeta Zeús, aráōn aḯōn Nēlēïádao gérontos.

     • 1925 translation by A. T. Murray

       So spake he in prayer, and Zeus the counsellor thundered aloud, hearing the prayer[s] of the aged son of Neleus

2. imprecation, curse, malediction

Declension

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἀ̆ρᾱ́ hē arā́	τὼ ἀ̆ρᾱ́ tṑ arā́	αἱ ἀ̆ραί hai araí
Genitive	τῆς ἀ̆ρᾶς tês arâs	τοῖν ἀ̆ραῖν toîn araîn	τῶν ἀ̆ρῶν tôn arôn
Dative	τῇ ἀ̆ρᾷ têi arâi	τοῖν ἀ̆ραῖν toîn araîn	ταῖς ἀ̆ραῖς taîs araîs
Accusative	τὴν ἀ̆ρᾱ́ν tḕn arā́n	τὼ ἀ̆ρᾱ́ tṑ arā́	τᾱ̀ς ἀ̆ρᾱ́ς tā̀s arā́s
Vocative	ἀ̆ρᾱ́ arā́	ἀ̆ρᾱ́ arā́	ἀ̆ραί araí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First declension of ἡ ἀ̆ρᾱ́; τῆς ἀ̆ρᾶς (Attic)

Further reading

• ἀρά in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀρά in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “ἀρά”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀρά”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G685 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • ban idem, page 60.
  • curse idem, page 191.
  • execration idem, page 290.
  • imprecation idem, page 423.
  • interdict idem, page 449.
  • prayer idem, page 632.
  • supplication idem, page 840.
  • swearing idem, page 847.