(n) The contraction of nouns in -oos, -eov does not generally appear in Homer and the Ionic writers, though vóos is contracted in Od. x. 240, and though xeμáppovs is written, probably for xeíμappos, in Il. XI. 493. The Doric contracts -eo into -ev.

(0) The ending -aos is sometimes written -nos in epic and lyric Greek: thus we have Evvnos in Il. VII. 468, XXIII. 747, and 'Aupiápnos in Pind. Nem. ix. 30.

THIRD OR CONSONANTAL DECLENSION.

172 To this declension belong all those forms which end in a consonant, and in - or -v, considered as residuary states of the guttural and labial elements of the digamma.

173 This declension recedes from the primitive type in the following particulars only. The genitive singular ends in -os. The accusative singular generally substitutes -ă for the original -v (according to 85, 107), the exceptions being certain nouns in - and -v (below, 187, 188), and a particular form of the dental nouns (below, 180). The plural accusative is consequently -ăs. The nominative plural of masculine and feminine nouns is -es for

-σες.

174 Neuter nouns generally exhibit the uninflected form in the nominative and accusative; a characteristic dental is omitted or changed into -s.

175 Apparent anomalies in this declension result from the assimilation or absorption of the final consonant of the uninflected form, which may usually be recovered by removing from the genitive singular its termination -os. The exceptions to this rule are confined to the neuter nouns in which the characteristic is a dental, omitted or represented by a sibilant, and those in -v or -. In the former, the uninflected form is either derived from the genitive, or must be inferred from analogy. In the latter it is furnished by the vocative.

The following table gives the nominative, vocative, genitive, and crude form of all types of nouns in the third declension. It will be observed that the nominative is the same as the vocative in every noun which does not include in its termination T, 8 (in Taîd-s only), v, p, or v; and in all neuter nouns and

participles, excepting among the latter ἄρχων and κρείων, which, when used as substantives in the sense of "ruler," make their vocative in -ov, as ἄρχον, κρεῖον.

176 The following are the main rules for the gender according

to the terminations in this declension:

1 Masculine: (α) Without exception the words with the endings -āv, -ās (gen. -avos and -αντος), -ευς and -υν.

(β) Most of the words with the endings -ην, -ηρ, της (gen. -ητος), -ειρ, -ους, -υρ, -ων (gen. -ωνος and -οντος), -ωp and -ως (gen. -ωτος and -ωος).

Exceptions (besides those of which the gender is determined by the signification) : (1) In -ην, ἡ φρήν, ὁ, ἡ ἀδήν. (2) In -ηρ, ἡ γαστήρ, ἡ κήρ, ἀήρ and αιθήρ (in the poets), ἡ ῥαιστήρ; and all those contracted from -cap, which are neuter, as τὸ ἦρ, τὸ κῆρ. (3) In -ης, all derived substantives in -oτης and -υτης, which are feminine, as ἡ νεότης, ἡ ὀξύτης, also ἡ ἐσθής, i.e. στολή. (4) In -ειρ, ἡ χείρ. (5) In -ους, τὸ οὖς. (6) In -υρ, τὸ πῦρ. (7) In -ων, ἡ ἁλών, ἡ βλήχων οι γλήχων, ἡ μήκων, ἡ τρήρων, and ὁ, ἡ αὐλών, κώδων. (8) In -ωρ, τὸ ἔλδωρ, τὸ ἕλωρ, τὸ πέλωρ, τὸ σκώρ, τὸ τέκμωρ, τὸ ὕδωρ. (9) In -ως, τὸ φώς, ἡ δώς.

2 Feminine: (α) Without exception the words with the endings -avs, -w, -ws (gen. -oos).

(3) Most of the words with the endings -as (gen. -αδος), -εις, -ις (-ιν), -us and -ων (gen. -ovoς).

Exceptions: (1) In -as, the adject. are common, as ὁ, ἡ λογάς, φυγάς, &c. (2) In -εις, ὁ κτείς. (3) In -us (-ιν), ὁ κίς, ὁ δελφίς οι δελφίν, ὁ, ἡ θίς, ὁ ἰκτίν, ὁ λῖς, ὁ ὄφις, ὁ ὄρχις, ὁ τελμίς, ὁ κύρβις, ὁ γλάνις, ὁ, ἡ ἔχις, ὁ, ἡ κόρις. (4) In -υς, ὁ βότρυς, ὁ θρῆνυς, ὁ ἰχθύς, ὁ μᾶς, ὁ νέκυς, ὁ πέλεκυς, ὁ πήχυς, ὁ στάχυς. (5) In -ων, ὁ ἄκμων, ὁ κάνων, ὁ, ἡ κίων.

3 The words with the ending - are partly masculine and partly feminine; those in -ψ are all masculine, with the exception of ἡ καλαῦροψ, ἡ λαῖλαψ, ἡ ὄψ, ἡ φλέψ, ἡ χέρνιψ, ἡ κατῆλιψ.

4 Neuter: (α) Without exception those with the endings -a, -ăv, -i, -ev, -es, -ov, -op, -os, and -v.

(b) Those with the endings -ap and -as (gen. -aтos and -aos), with the exception of ὁ ψάρ, ὁ λᾶς.

177 Nouns of the third declension may be arranged according to their characteristics, that is, according to the letters which terminate their crude or uninflected forms.

178

a. Labial Nouns.

The characteristic and nominative case-ending are always

included in ψ:
ἡ φλέψ, “ the vein.”

Root, φλεξ-, φλεβ-, or φλυ-, “to bubble up,” or "gush forth."

Το ἡ λαῖλαψ, λαίλαπ-ος, “ the storm ;” ἡ κατῆλιψ, κατήλιφ-ος,

"the staircase."

These nouns, with the exception of γυνή for γυναίξ = γυνα-κίς, express the characteristic and nominative case-ending together by -ξ: ὁ κόραξ, “ the raven,” for κόρακ-ς; ἡ πτέρυξ, for πτέρυγος, “ the wing;” and ἡ θρίξ, “ the hair,” for τρίχες. In ὁ λάρυγξ, λάρυγγος, “the larynx,” and ὁ, ἡ λύγξ, λυγκός, “the lynx,” an euphonic nasal, represented by y (above, 18, a), is inserted before the charac

teristic