-ια

See also: -ιά, -ία, ἰά, ἴα, and Appendix:Variations of "ia"

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂ ~ *-yéh₂s, related to -ίᾱ (-íā) (from Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂). Cognate with Latin -ia. In some contexts, (e.g. in words like ἀλήθεια (alḗtheia) and πᾰρᾰ́νοιᾰ (părắnoiă)) the use of this suffix may have been an innovative replacement of earlier formations in -ίᾱ (-íā) (which was kept or changed to -ίη (-íē) in some dialects).

After a consonant, the vowel *i changed to a semivowel *y and triggered palatalization in Proto-Greek, resulting in many nouns and adjectives ending in -σσᾰ (-ssă), -ττᾰ (-ttă), -ζᾰ (-ză). It also undergoes metathesis, resulting in -ιρᾰ (-iră), and -ινᾰ (-ină).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /i.a/ → /i.a/ → /i.a/

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

Suffix

-ῐᾰ • (-ĭă) f (genitive -ῐ́ᾱς); first declension

1. Primitive suffix added to the stems of adjectives in -ύς (-ús) and some nouns to form feminine gender

   ‎ἡδῠ́ς (hēdŭ́s, “sweet”, masculine) + ‎-ῐᾰ (-ĭă) → ‎ἡδεῖᾰ (hēdeîă, feminine)

   ‎ἱερεύς (hiereús, “priest”, masculine) + ‎-ῐᾰ (-ĭă) → ‎ἱέρειᾰ (hiéreiă, feminine)

2. Suffix added to the stems of adjectives in -ής (-ḗs) to form abstract nouns

   ‎ᾰ̓ληθής (ălēthḗs, “true”) + ‎-ῐᾰ (-ĭă) → ‎ᾰ̓λήθειᾰ (ălḗtheiă, “truth”)

Usage notes

Nouns formed with the suffix always have recessive accent.

Inflection

First declension of -ῐᾰ; -ῐᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	-ῐᾰ -ĭă	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐαι -ĭai
Genitive	-ῐᾱς -ĭās	-ῐαιν -ĭain	-ῐῶν -ĭôn
Dative	-ῐᾳ -ĭāi	-ῐαιν -ĭain	-ῐαις -ĭais
Accusative	-ῐᾰν -ĭăn	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐᾱς -ĭās
Vocative	-ῐᾰ -ĭă	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐαι -ĭai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First declension of -ῐᾰ; -ῐης (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	-ῐᾰ -ĭă	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐαι -ĭai
Genitive	-ῐης -ĭēs	-ῐαιν / -ῐαιῐν / -ῐῃῐν -ĭai(ĭ)n / -ĭēiĭn	-ῐᾱ́ων / -ῐέ͜ων / -ῐῶν -ĭā́ōn / -ĭé͜ōn / -ĭôn
Dative	-ῐῃ -ĭēi	-ῐαιν / -ῐαιῐν / -ῐῃῐν -ĭai(ĭ)n / -ĭēiĭn	-ῐῃσῐ / -ῐῃσῐν / -ῐῃς / -ῐαις -ĭēisĭ(n) / -ĭēis / -ĭais
Accusative	-ῐᾰν -ĭăn	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐᾱς -ĭās
Vocative	-ῐᾰ -ĭă	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐαι -ĭai
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

First declension of -ῐᾰ; -ῐης (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	-ῐᾰ -ĭă	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐαι -ĭai
Genitive	-ῐης -ĭēs	-ῐαιν -ĭain	-ῐέων / -ῐῶν -ĭéōn / -ĭôn
Dative	-ῐῃ -ĭēi	-ῐαιν -ĭain	-ῐῃσῐ / -ῐῃσῐν -ĭēisĭ(n)
Accusative	-ῐᾰν -ĭăn	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐᾱς -ĭās
Vocative	-ῐᾰ -ĭă	-ῐᾱ -ĭā	-ῐαι -ĭai
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

Ancient Greek terms suffixed with -ια

• -εια (-eia)
• -ινα (-ina)
• -μετρία (-metría)

Further reading

• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920) “Part III: Formation of Words”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 859.6