Discussion of Greek accentuation: placement rules for adjectives, superlatives, numerals, and proper names with endings such as -ατος, -ετος, -τος, double ττ, and Attic variants, with examples and citations.
φασί. καὶ Ῥάπτος ποταμὸς Αἰθιοπίας. τὸ δὲ πέμπτος ἕκτος τὰ ἐπὶ ἀριθμοῦ βαρύνεται. τὸ μέντοι πεμπτός ὀξύνεται τὸ ἐπιθετικὸν καὶ τὸ ἑκτός ὁ ἐχόμενος, ἐκτός δὲ χωρὶς ἐπίρρημα. Τὰ εἰς διπλοῦν 'ττ' βαρύνεται, χωρὶς τῶν Ἀττικῶν, κόττος, λύττος, Βάττος, Βρέττος πόλις Τυρρηνῶν ἀπὸ Βρέττου τοῦ Ἡρακλέους καὶ Βαλητίας τῆς Βαλήτου, Σφῆττος παῖς Τροιζῆνος, τὸ δὲ Σφηττός δῆμος Ἀκαμαντίδος φυλῆς ὀξύνεται. τὰ δὲ Ἀττικὰ ὁμοτονεῖ τοῖς κοινοῖς, ἐξ ὧν γέγονε, κιττός, ὅτι κισσός, τριττός, ὅτι τρισσός. Τὰ εἰς 'τατος' ὑπερθετικὰ προπαροξύνεται, καὶ ὅσα εἰς 'στος' ὑπερθετικά, λαμπρότατος, ὁσιώτατος, σεμνότατος, κάλλιστος, κύδιστος, ἄριστος. ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ πλατάνιστος ἀπὸ τοῦ πλάτανος. Τὰ εἰς 'τος' ὑπερδισύλλαβα κύρια ἢ προσηγορικὰ παραληγόμενα τῷ 'α' προπαροξύνεται, Ἔλατος, ἀφ´ οὗ Ἐλάτεια πόλις Φωκίδος, ὕπατος, ἔνατος, Εἴνατος πόλις Κρήτης, ὡς Ξενίων φησί. τινὲς δὲ ὄρος καὶ ποταμός, ἐν ᾧ τιμᾶσθαι τὴν Εἰλείθυιαν Εἰνατίην. θάνατος, Ἔρατος τὸ κύριον, ἐρατός ὁ ἐπιθυμητικός. ἄκατος, Ἀμήστρατος πόλις Σικελίας. Ἀπολλόδωρος τετάρτῃ χρονικῶν. Μυτισέρατος φρούριον Σικελίας. Φίλιστος δεκάτῃ. Μυτίστρατος πολίχνιον περὶ Καρχηδόνα. Πολύβιος πρώτῳ. Τὰ διὰ τοῦ 'ατος' παρηγμένα εἰ μὴ ῥηματικά εἰσιν ἀπὸ τῶν εἰς 'μι' ληγόντων, ἢ ἀπὸ δευτέρας συζυγίας τῶν περισπωμένων προπαροξύνονται, μέσατος, πύματος, ὀγδόατος, τρίτατος, τέτρατος, νέατος. τὸ μέντοι ἐρατός, ἐλατός ὀξύνεται. ὡσαύτως δὲ ὀξύνεται καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς δευτέρας συζυγίας τῶν περισπωμένων μακρὸν ἔχοντα τὸ 'α', περατός, θεατός, φυρατός, ἰατός. Τὰ εἰς 'ετος' τρισύλλαβα ἔχοντα τὸ 'ε' ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ ἀπὸ τέλους κύρια ὄντα καὶ προσηγορικὰ προπαροξύνεται, Νέπετος πόλις Ἰταλίας. Διονύσιος τρισκαιδεκάτῃ Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἀρχαιολογίας. Ἔχετος, Δέρκετος, Μένετος τὸ κύριον, μενετός τὸ ἐπίθετον. τούτοις ἠκολούθησε καὶ τὸ ἔμετος ὡς ἔχον τὸ 'ε' ὥσπερ τὰ ἄνω. σεσημείωται τὸ Ἐνετός ἔθνος Παφλαγονίας ὀξυνόμενον. Ὅμηρος «ἐξ Ἐνετῶν, ὅθεν ἡμιόνων γένος ἀγροτεράων» (Il. Β 852). τὰ δὲ ἔχοντα τὸ 'α' ὁμοίως, ἄργετος,
They say. And Ῥάπτος is a river of Ethiopia. But πέμπτος and ἕκτος, the forms used with a numeral, are accented with a grave. The adjectival πεμπτός, however, is accented with an acute, and likewise the following ἑκτός; but ἐκτός, when it stands apart, is an adverb.
Words ending in a double ττ are accented with a grave, except the Attic forms: κόττος, λύττος, Βάττος, Βρέττος, a city of the Tyrrhenians, from Βρέττος son of Heracles and Βαλητία daughter of Βαλῆτος; Σφῆττος, son of Troezen; but Σφηττός, the deme of the Acamantis tribe, is accented with an acute. The Attic forms have the same accent as the common forms from which they arose: κιττός, because κισσός; τριττός, because τρισσός.
Superlatives in -τατος are accented with a proparoxytone, and likewise those superlatives in -στος: λαμπρότατος, ὁσιώτατος, σεμνότατος, κάλλιστος, κύδιστος, ἄριστος. Similarly also πλατάνιστος from πλάτανος.
Proper names or appellatives of more than two syllables ending in -τος, with α in the penult, are accented with a proparoxytone: Ἔλατος, from which Ἐλάτεια, a city of Phocis; ὕπατος; ἔνατος; Εἴνατος, a city of Crete, as Xenion says. Some, however, [say it is] a mountain and a river, in which Eileithyia is honored as Εἰνατίη. θάνατος; Ἔρατος as a proper name, but ἐρατός as the desiderative adjective. ἄκατος. Ἀμήστρατος, a city of Sicily—Apollodorus in the fourth book of the Chronica. Μυτισέρατος, a fortress of Sicily—Philistus in the tenth. Μυτίστρατος, a small town near Carthage—Polybius in the first.
Derivatives in -ατος, if they are not verbal forms from words ending in -μι, or from the second conjugation of the circumflexed verbs, are accented with a proparoxytone: μέσατος, πύματος, ὀγδόατος, τρίτατος, τέτρατος, νέατος. But ἐρατός and ἐλατός are accented with an acute. Likewise, those derived from the second conjugation of the circumflexed verbs, having long α, are also accented with an acute: περατός, θεατός, φυρατός, ἰατός.
Trisyllables in -ετος, having ε in the third syllable from the end, whether proper names or appellatives, are accented with a proparoxytone: Νέπετος, a city of Italy—Dionysius in the thirteenth book of the Roman Antiquities. Ἔχετος, Δέρκετος, Μένετος as a proper name, but μενετός as an adjective. To these there has also been added ἔμετος, as having ε like the above. Noted as an exception is Ἐνετός, a people of Paphlagonia, accented with an acute. Homer: «ἐξ Ἐνετῶν, ὅθεν ἡμιόνων γένος ἀγροτεράων» (Il. Β 852). And those having α likewise: ἄργετος,