Discussion of accentuation rules for disyllabic and trisyllabic nouns ending in -ος and -αμος (and related forms), showing when they are oxytones, barytones, or proparoxytones, with examples and place-names.
δισύλλαβα μονογενῆ ἀρχόμενα ἀπὸ τοῦ 'ω', μὴ προσκειμένου τοῦ 'ι' βαρύνεται, ὧρος, ὦμος, ὦχρος. πρόσκειται μὴ ἔχοντα τὸ 'ι' διὰ τοῦ ᾠδός. Τὰ εἰς 'μος' δισύλλαβα διφθόγγῳ παραλήγοντα ἀπὸ συμφώνου ἀρχόμενα ὀξύνεται, λοιμός, λαιμός. τὰ δὲ μὴ ἀπὸ συμφώνου ἀρχόμενα βαρύνονται οἷον Αἷμος ὄρος Θρᾴκης. λέγεται καὶ οὐδετέρως, ὡς οἱ πολλοί. ἐγένετο δὲ ὁ Αἷμος υἱὸς Βορέου καὶ Ὠρειθυίας, ἀφ´ οὗ καὶ τὸ ὄρος. καὶ οἶμος. σεσημείωται τὸ Δεῖμος. Τὰ διὰ τοῦ 'αμος' τριβράχεα προπαροξύνεται, εἰ μὴ προηγεῖται τῷ 'α' τὸ 'τ', πλόκαμος, κέραμος, κάλαμος, θάλαμος, κύαμος, Πρίαμος ἐκ τοῦ πρίαμαι. ἐπράθη γὰρ καὶ ταύτης τῆς ἐπωνυμίας ἔτυχε ὡς ἱστορεῖ Λυκόφρων (v. 338) «ὠνητὸς αἰθαλωτόν». Ὕλαμοι πόλις Λυκίας ὡς Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ πολυίστωρ ἐν δευτέρῳ περὶ Λυκίας. Ὑλάμους δὲ τοὺς καρπούς φασι. τὸ μέντοι ἰταμός ἐπιθετικὸν καὶ ποταμός παρὰ τὸ ποτασμός καθ´ ὑφαίρεσιν τοῦ 'σ' γινόμενον ὀξύνεται ὡς ἔχοντα τὸ 'τ' πρὸ τοῦ 'α'. Τὰ διὰ τοῦ 'αμος', εἰ ἔχοι τὴν πρώτην φύσει μακράν, εἰ μὲν κύρια εἴη, προπαροξύνεται, Πύραμος ποταμὸς ἐν Μαλλῷ τῆς Κιλικίας, Σήσαμος, Τεύταμος, Ἴαμος Σκυθίας ἔθνος ὡς Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν τῷ περὶ Εὐξείνου πόντου. εἰ δὲ μή, ὀξύνεται, οὐλαμός, χηραμός ἡ κατάδυσις. τούτῳ οὖν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὸ φωριαμός τὸ κιβώτιον, εἴτε παρὰ τὸ τοὺς φῶρας ἀπείργειν ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ τὰ φάρη φυλάσσειν παρῆκται, ἔσται κατ´ ὀξεῖαν τάσιν. ἔστι γὰρ φωραμός καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ
Monosyllabic, simple, disyllables beginning with 'ω', when 'ι' is not attached, are barytone: ὧρος, ὦμος, ὦχρος. The proviso “not having 'ι'” is added because of ᾠδός. Disyllables in -μος, with a diphthong in the penult, beginning with a consonant, are oxytone: λοιμός, λαιμός. But those not beginning with a consonant are barytone, for example Αἷμος, a mountain of Thrace. It is also said in the neuter, as most people do. And Αἷμος was the son of Boreas and Oreithyia, from whom the mountain too is named; and οἶμος. Noted as exceptional is Δεῖμος. Trisyllables in -αμος with three short syllables are proparoxytone, unless 'τ' precedes the 'α': πλόκαμος, κέραμος, κάλαμος, θάλαμος, κύαμος, Πρίαμος from πρίαμαι. For he was sold and obtained this appellation too, as Lycophron relates (v. 338): «ὠνητὸς αἰθαλωτόν». Ὕλαμοι, a city of Lycia, as Alexander Polyhistor says in the second book On Lycia. And they say that ὑλάμους are the fruits. However, the adjective ἰταμός and ποταμός, from ποτασμός by subtraction of 'σ', are oxytone, as having 'τ' before the 'α'. Words in -αμος, if they have the first syllable long by nature: if they are proper names, they are proparoxytone—Πύραμος, a river in Mallus of Cilicia; Σήσαμος; Τεῦταμος; Ἴαμος, a Scythian people, as Alexander says in his work On the Euxine Sea. But if not, they are oxytone: οὐλαμός; χηραμός, “the descent.” Accordingly, by this principle φωριαμός, “the chest,” whether derived from keeping thieves out or from guarding cloaks, will have an acute accent. For there is φωραμός also, and by addition of the—