Discussion of declension and accentuation rules for monosyllabic Greek nouns ending in -ος, -ως, -υς with genitive formation and place-name examples (e.g., Τρῶς, μῦς, ἰχθῦς, Κῶς).
* Εἰς 'ος' μονοσύλλαβον οὐκ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν. τὸ γὰρ πός οἷον »ᾧ πὸς ἄγ´, ἱεμένοισιν« ἀπὸ τοῦ πούς γέγονε κατὰ ἀποβολὴν τοῦ 'υ' καὶ τὸ ὅς ἄρθρον ἐστίν. καὶ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι κανών ἐστιν ὁ λέγων ὅτι πᾶν ὄνομα μονοσύλλαβον μακροκαταληκτεῖν θέλει φύσει ἢ θέσει χωρὶς τοῦ τίς. ἄλλως τε δύο κανόνες ἤμελλον μάχεσθαι. καθὸ μὲν γὰρ εἰς 'ος' εἰσίν, ὤφειλεν εἰς 'ου' ἔχειν τὴν γενικήν. καθὸ δὲ πάλιν πᾶσα μονοσύλλαβος εὐθεῖα ἰσοσυλλάβως κλινομένη ἀποβολῇ τοῦ 'ς' τὴν γενικὴν ποιεῖ ὁ Χνᾶς τοῦ Χνᾶ, ὁ Δρῆς τοῦ Δρῆ, ὁ νοῦς τοῦ νοῦ, ὁ ῥοῦς τοῦ ῥοῦ, ἠναγκάζοντο καὶ ταῦτα ἀποβολῇ τοῦ 'ς' τὴν γενικὴν ἀποτελεῖν καὶ οὐχὶ εἰς τὴν 'ου' δίφθογγον ἔχειν αὐτήν. τῶν οὖν δύο κανόνων μαχομένων ἐπιλελοίπασι τὰ εἰς 'ος' μονοσύλλαβα ὀνόματα. Τὰ εἰς 'υς' μονοσύλλαβα περισπῶνται, μῦς, δρῦς· ἔστι δὲ καὶ πόλις Θρᾴκης. Ἑκαταῖος Εὐρώπῃ. σῦς καὶ ὗς. φυλάσσουσι δὲ τὸ 'υ' ἐν τῇ κλίσει· τῶν δὲ ὑπὲρ μίαν συλλαβὴν ἀρσενικῶν ἓν μόνον ὁ ἰχθῦς ὁμοίως ἐκλίθη τοῖς προειρημένοις. Τὰ εἰς 'ως' ἀρσενικὰ μονοσύλλαβα περιττοσύλλαβα ὀξύνεται, Τρώς τὸ ἐθνικὸν ὁμόφωνον τῷ κτίστῃ ὡς Ἀχαιός, Δαναός, Σικελός, θώς, πλώς ἰχθῦς τις. δμώς, φώς ὁ ἄνθρωπος, χρώς »ἐπεὶ οὔ σφι λίθος χρὼς οὐδὲ σίδηρος (Il. Δ 510). Μώς τὸ μέντοι κατὰ τροπὴν Δωρικὴν γινόμενον βῶς ἀπὸ τοῦ βοῦς βοός περισπᾶται. τὰ μέντοι ἰσοσύλλαβα περισπῶνται, σώς «νῦν τοι σῶς αἰπὺς ὄλεθρος» (Ν 773)· γέγονε δὲ ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ σόος, ὡς οἴεται Φιλόξενος, ἢ ἐκ τοῦ σῶος ἢ ἐκ τοῦ σάος. Κρῶς ὄνομα ἥρωος ὁμοφωνοῦν τῇ πόλει, ἔστι δὲ Αἰγύπτου. Ἑκαταῖος περιηγήσει Ἀσίας. Γλῶς ὄνομα ἥρωος, Κῶς πόλις καὶ νῆσος. καὶ Ὅμηρος «καὶ Κῶν Εὐρυπύλοιο πόλιν» (Β 677). λέγεται καὶ Κώως διὰ δύο 'ωω' καὶ Κόως, ἀφ´ οὗ τὸ παρ´ Ὁμήρῳ τοπικὸν «καί μιν ἔπειτα Κόωνδ´ εὐναιομένην ἀπένεικας» (Il. Ξ 255). λέγεται καὶ Κόος διὰ δύο 'οο'. ἔοικεν οὖν τὸ πρωτότυπον Κῶς. οὕτως γὰρ καὶ ὁ κτίστης. ἔστι καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πόλις Κῶς. ἔστι δὲ καὶ κῶς τὸ ὄρυγμα τὸ ἐν
It is not possible to find a monosyllable ending in -ος. For πός, as in “ᾧ πὸς ἄγ’, ἱεμένοισιν”, has arisen from πούς by loss of υ, and ὅς is an article. And one may say that there is a rule stating that every monosyllabic noun wishes to have a long ending, by nature or by position, except τίς. Otherwise, two rules would have been in conflict. For insofar as they are in -ος, they ought to have the genitive in -ου; but insofar again as every monosyllabic nominative, when declined isosyllabically, makes the genitive by dropping ς—ὁ Χνᾶς, τοῦ Χνᾶ; ὁ Δρῆς, τοῦ Δρῆ; ὁ νοῦς, τοῦ νοῦ; ὁ ῥοῦς, τοῦ ῥοῦ—these too would have been compelled to form the genitive by dropping ς and not to have it in the diphthong -ου. Therefore, since the two rules are in conflict, monosyllabic nouns in -ος have been left out.
Monosyllables in -υς are circumflexed: μῦς, δρῦς; and there is also πόλις Θρᾴκης. Hecataeus in his Ευρώπῃ. σῦς and ὗς. They preserve υ in declension; and among masculine words of more than one syllable only ἰχθῦς is declined in the same way as those mentioned above.
Masculine monosyllables in -ως, being perissyllabic, are accented with an acute: Τρώς, the ethnic name, homophonous with the founder, as Ἀχαιός, Δαναός, Σικελός; θώς, πλώς, a kind of fish; δμώς; φώς, “man”; χρώς: “since for them the skin is not stone nor iron” (Il. Δ 510). Μώς, however—the form that by a Doric change becomes βῶς from βοῦς, βοός—is circumflexed. The isosyllabic forms, however, are circumflexed: σώς, “now for you sheer destruction is safe” (Ν 773); and it has come either from σόος, as Philoxenus thinks, or from σῶος, or from σάος.
Κρῶς, the name of a hero, homophonous with the city, is in Egypt; Hecataeus in the Periegesis of Asia. Γλῶς, the name of a hero; Κῶς, a city and an island; and Homer: “and the city of Cos of Eurypylus” (Β 677). It is also said Κώως with two ωω, and Κόως, whence the local form in Homer: “and then you brought her to dwell in Κόων” (Il. Ξ 255). It is also said Κόος with two οο. The original form therefore seems to be Κῶς; for so too is the founder. There is also in Egypt a city Κῶς. There is also κῶς, the trench that is in…