ἕξις

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ἔχω (ékhō, “to have”) +‎ -σις (-sis).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /hék.sis/ → /ˈek.sis/ → /ˈek.sis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /hék.sis/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)ek.sis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈek.sis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈek.sis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈek.sis/

Noun

ἕξῐς • (héxis) f (genitive ἕξεως); third declension

1. an act of having, possession
   • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 197B
   • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Cratylus 414B
   • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 625C
2. a being in a certain state, a permanent condition, produced by practice
   1. a state or habit of body, especially a good habit
      • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, Aphorisms 1245
      • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, On Joints 789
      • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Memorabilia 1.2.4
      • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, Surgery 740
   2. a state or habit of mind
      • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 650B
      • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 153B
      • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 167A
      • 380 BCE, Plato, The Republic 591B
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1.8.9
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 2.1.7
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 3.7.6
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Metaphysics 4.20
   3. skill as the result of practice, experience
      • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Phaedrus 268E
      • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Problems 30.2

Declension

Third declension of ἡ ἕξῐς; τῆς ἕξεως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἕξῐς hē héxis	τὼ ἕξει tṑ héxei	αἱ ἕξεις hai héxeis
Genitive	τῆς ἕξεως tês héxeōs	τοῖν ἑξέοιν toîn hexéoin	τῶν ἕξεων tôn héxeōn
Dative	τῇ ἕξει têi héxei	τοῖν ἑξέοιν toîn hexéoin	ταῖς ἕξεσῐ / ἕξεσῐν taîs héxesi(n)
Accusative	τὴν ἕξῐν tḕn héxin	τὼ ἕξει tṑ héxei	τᾱ̀ς ἕξεις tā̀s héxeis
Vocative	ἕξῐ héxi	ἕξει héxei	ἕξεις héxeis
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “permanent condition”): σχέσις (skhésis)
• (antonym(s) of “state of mind”): δύναμις (dúnamis)

Derived terms

• ἑκτικός (hektikós)

Descendants

• Greek: έξη (éxi)

Further reading

• “ἕξις”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἕξις”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἕξις in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• G1838 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.
  • condition idem, page 157.
  • disposition idem, page 237.
  • habit idem, page 380.
  • propensity idem, page 653.
  • quality idem, page 663.
  • state idem, page 812.