Discussion of place-names ending in -σα (Πύρρα, Κρῖσα, Πῖσα, Νῖσα, Βῖσα, etc.), rules of accentuation and vowel/diphthong behavior (e.g. -σα disyllables, ου diphthong in μοῦσα), phonological variants (σ > ρ), and examples/citations (Homer, Pindar).
Πύρρα πόλις ἐν Λέσβῳ· ἔστι καὶ κώμη Λιγυστικῆς. βαρύνεται δὲ καὶ Κύδραι πόλις Βρυγῶν. Στράβων ἑβδόμῃ, καὶ Μάκρα νῆσος Λυκίας, ὡς Ἀλέξανδρος ἐν περίπλῳ αὐτῆς. Τὰ εἰς 'σα' δισύλλαβα βαρύνεται, αἶσα· ἔστι καὶ Αἶσα πόλις Θρᾴκης προσεχὴς τῇ Παλλήνῃ. μοῦσα μόνον δισύλλαβον τῇ 'ου' διφθόγγῳ παραληγόμενον ὁμοίως ἐν χρήσει τῇ τῶν παλαιῶν καὶ τῇ κοινῇ συνηθείᾳ. τὸ γὰρ Δοῦσα κύριον καθ´ ἱστορίαν ἐστὶ λεγόμενον ἥ τε Χοῦσα πόλις Αἰγυπτίων. πεῖσα ἡ πειθώ, μεθ´ ὧν γλῶσσα, πίσσα, νύσσα ὁ καμπτήρ. Φαῖσα, δεῖσα ἡ ὑγρασία. Τῖσα, Κρῖσα πόλις Φωκίδος. Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ ἀπὸ Κρίσου Φώκου υἱοῦ. Ὅμηρος »Κρῖσάν τε ζαθέην« (Β 520). ἔστι δὲ ἡ αὐτὴ τῇ Κίρρᾳ. γίνεται γὰρ ὑπερθέσει Κίρσα καὶ ἀντιθέσει τοῦ 'σ' εἰς 'ρ' Κίρρα ὡς χερσόνησος χερρόνησος. εἰσὶ καὶ ἄλλαι Κρῖσαι. ἔστι καὶ Αἰολίδος Κρῖσα. κνῖσα. γίνεται δὲ ἀπὸ μέλλοντος τοῦ κνίζω κνίσω· ὥσπερ γὰρ παρὰ τὸ πρῶ πρίζω, τρῶ τρίζω, οὕτω καὶ κνῶ κνίζω τὸ ἐπιπολῆς καὶ ἰσχνῶς καταξύω· διὸ καὶ δι´ ἑνός τε γράφεται 'σ' καὶ ἔκτασιν ἔλαβε τοῦ 'ι'. δηλοῖ δὲ ἡ κνῖσα τὴν κατ´ ὀλίγον ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀπτωμένου ἀναφορὰν τῇ ὀσφρήσει προσίζουσαν. προσαγορεύεται δὲ καὶ ἐπίπλους εὖ μάλα καὶ αὐτὸς εὐανάδοτος ὢν πρὸς ὄσφρησιν, οὐκ αὐτοτελὴς δὲ περιτεθειμένος τοῖς μηρίοις. Πῖσα πόλις καὶ κρήνη τῆς Ὀλυμπίας. ἔστι καὶ χωρίον, ἐν ᾧ τοῦ Διὸς ναὸς ἵδρυται καὶ ὁ Ὀλυμπιακὸς ἀγὼν ἐπιτελεῖται. παρὰ τὸν πίσω μέλλοντα, οὗ ἡ χρῆσις παρὰ Πινδάρῳ. Πίνδαρος δὲ κατὰ συστολὴν τὴν πόλιν εἶπε Πίσαν. Βῖσα πόλις Θρᾴκης. Βρῖσα ἄκρα Λέσβου, ἐν ᾗ ἵδρυται Διόνυσος Βρισαῖος. Νῖσα ἡ πόλις. Νῦσα πόλεις πολλαί, ἐν Ἑλικῶνι, ἐν Θρᾴκῃ, ἐν Καρίᾳ, ἐν Ἀραβίᾳ, ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, ἐν Νάξῳ, ἐν Ἰνδοῖς, ἐπὶ τοῦ Καυκάσου ὄρους, ἐν Εὐβοίᾳ. φῦσα, βῆσσα καὶ Βῆσα πόλις Λοκρῶν δι´ ἑνὸς 'σ', Ἀπολλόδωρος δὲ καὶ Ἐπαφρόδιτος καὶ Ἡρακλέων διὰ δύο »Βῆσσάν τε Σκάρφην τε καὶ Αὐγειὰς ἐρατεινάς« (Β 532). ὠνομάσθη δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ τόπου φύσεως ναπώδους οὔσης. Κρῆσσα πόλις Παφλαγονίας, ἣν
Pyrrha is a city in Lesbos; there is also a village of Ligystica. And Kydrai too, a city of the Brygians, is accented with a grave. Strabo in the seventh book, and Makra, an island of Lycia, as Alexander says in his periplus of it. Disyllables in -σα are accented with a grave: αἶσα; and there is also Aisa, a city of Thrace near Pallene. μοῦσα is the only disyllable with the diphthong ου in the penult, alike in the usage of the ancients and in the common practice. For Δοῦσα is a proper name mentioned in historical narrative, and Χοῦσα is a city of the Egyptians. πεῖσα, “persuasion”; along with which are γλῶσσα, πίσσα, νύσσα, “the turning-post.” Φαῖσα; δεῖσα, “dampness.” Τῖσα; Κρῖσα, a city of Phocis. Hecataeus in his Europa: from Crisos, son of Phocus. Homer: “and sacred Κρῖσα” (Β 520). And it is the same as Cirrha. For by transposition it becomes Κίρσα, and by changing σ to ρ, Κίρρα, as χερσόνησος becomes χερρόνησος. There are also other places called Κρῖσα; there is also an Aeolian Κρῖσα. κνῖσα. It is formed from the future of κνίζω, κνίσω; for just as from πρῶ comes πρίζω, and from τρῶ comes τρίζω, so also from κνῶ comes κνίζω, “to scrape superficially and thinly”; therefore it is written with a single σ and has lengthening of ι. And κνῖσα denotes the gradual exhalation from what is being roasted, approaching the sense of smell. And ἐπίπλους too is so called, being very readily perceptible to smell, though not in itself complete when applied to the thigh-pieces. Πῖσα is a city and a spring of Olympia. There is also a district in which the temple of Zeus is founded and the Olympic contest is held. It is from the future πίσω, whose usage is found in Pindar. And Pindar, by contraction, called the city Πίσαν. Βῖσα, a city of Thrace. Βρῖσα, a headland of Lesbos, in which Dionysus Brisaios is established. Νῖσα, the city. Νῦσα: many cities—on Helicon, in Thrace, in Caria, in Arabia, in Egypt, in Naxos, among the Indians, on Mount Caucasus, in Euboea. φῦσα; βῆσσα; and Βῆσα, a city of the Locrians, with a single σ; but Apollodorus and Epaphroditus and Heracleon with two: “and Βῆσσα and Σκάρφη and lovely Αὐγειάς” (Β 532). And it was named from the nature of the place, since it was wooded with glens. Κρῆσσα, a city of Paphlagonia, which…