Accentuation rules for nouns ending in -ις and -βις; differentiation of oxytone and barytone forms, patronymic and diminutive formations, examples (Teumessis, Priamis, town names), and relation to verb-derived nouns (ποίησις etc.).
Τευμησσός Τευμησσίς· τὸ ἄσις ἀντίκειται «τόσσην οἱ ἄσιν ἐφύπερθε καλύψω» (Φ 321)· ὑποπίπτει γὰρ ἑτέρῳ κανόνι· τὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γένους παραλαμβανόμενα καὶ ταὐτὰ σημαίνοντα ὁμοτονεῖ φήμη φῆμις, ἄση ἄσις. Τὰ εἰς 'ις' πατρωνυμικὰ ἢ τύπον ἔχοντα πατρωνυμικῶν ὀξύνονται Πριαμίς, Τανταλίς, Τυνδαρίς ἡ τοῦ Τυνδάρεω, Ἑλικωνίς, Αὐσονίς, Βιστονίς, Ἀβαντίς, Εὐξαντίς καθ´ ὕφεσιν τοῦ 'α' ἐκ τοῦ Εὐξαντιάς. Τὰ εἰς 'ις' ὑποκοριστικὰ ἔχοντα ἐν ἴσαις συλλαβαῖς τὴν παραγωγὴν ὀξύνεται, θεραπαινίς, ἑταιρίς, λυρίς. τὸ δὲ Ἶφις ἀπὸ τοῦ ἶφι γενόμενον βαρύνεται. Τὰ εἰς 'ις' ἐσχηματισμένα ἀπὸ βαρυτόνων μελλόντων ἢ δευτέρου προσώπου τοῦ παθητικοῦ παρακειμένου βαρύνονται καὶ συστέλλουσι τὸ 'ι', ποιήσω ποίησις, γνώσω γνῶσις, πράξω πρᾶξις, ἕξω ἕξις, μέμψω μέμψις, λέξω λέξις· οὕτω καὶ ἅψω ἅψις ὤφειλεν εἶναι· ὅθεν Ἡσίοδος ἀναλογώτερον εἶπεν ἅψις βαρυτόνως «τρισπίθαμον δ´ ἅψιν τάμνειν δεκαδώρῳ ἁμάξῃ». ἔστιν οὖν εἰπεῖν ὅτι, ἐπειδὴ τὸ ἁψίς ἐκτείνει τὸ 'ι', ὡς δηλοῖ τὸ «μή πως ὡς ἁψῖσι λίνου ἁλόντε» (Il. Ε 487), τούτου χάριν καὶ ὀξύνεται. * Τὰ εἰς 'βις' δισύλλαβα ὀξύνεται ἢ βαρύνεται· καὶ ὀξύνεται μὲν τὰ παρώνυμα οἷον λαβίς παρὰ τὸ λαβή καὶ ἐπιθετικὰ οἷον Λεσβίς καὶ ἐκτείνοντα τὸ 'ι' οἷον βαλβίς· τὰ δὲ μὴ οὕτως ἔχοντα βαρύνεται, ἶβις, Ἄρβις ποταμὸς Ἰνδικῆς καὶ ἔθνος· λέγεται δὲ καὶ Ἄραβις. Νίβις πόλις Αἰγύπτου, Φλέγων ρμʹ Ὀλυμπιάδι, Τάβις πόλις Ἀραβίας. Ἑκαταῖος περιηγήσει Αἰγύπτου. Νάρβις Ἰλλυρίας πόλις. Ζόμβις πόλις τῆς Μηδίας. Χέμβις νῆσος ἐν Βουτοῖ, ὡς Ἑκαταῖος ἐν περιηγήσει Αἰγύπτου «ἐν Βουτοῖ περὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Λητοῦς ἐστι νῆσος Χέμβις ὄνομα, ἱρὴ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος· ἔστι δὲ ἡ νῆσος μεταρσίη καὶ περιπλέει καὶ κινέεται ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος». Τὰ εἰς 'βις' ὑπερδισύλλαβα ὀξύνεται ἢ προπαροξύνεται· ὀξύνεται τὰ παρώνυμα καὶ ἐπιθετικά, Νιοβίς, Λυκαμβίς, Περραιβίς, Κανωβίς, Ἐρεμβίς, Τορρηβίς «ἐν δὲ τῇ Τορρηβίδι ἐστὶν ὄρος Κάριος
Teumessos, Teumessis: the form ἄσις is an exception—“so great a covering of dust will I heap over them” (Φ 321)—for it falls under another rule: words taken in the same gender and signifying the same thing have the same accent, φήμη φῆμις, ἄση ἄσις. Patronymics in -ις, or those having the pattern of patronymics, are accented on the acute: Πριαμίς, Τανταλίς, Τυνδαρίς (daughter of Tyndareus), Ἑλικωνίς, Αὐσονίς, Βιστονίς, Ἀβαντίς, Εὐξαντίς, with elision of the α from Εὐξαντιάς. Diminutives in -ις, when the derivation has the same number of syllables, are accented on the acute: θεραπαινίς, ἑταιρίς, λυρίς. But Ἶφις, formed from ἶφι, is accented on the grave. Forms in -ις made from barytone futures or from the second person of the passive perfect are barytone and contract the ι: ποιήσω ποίησις, γνώσω γνῶσις, πράξω πρᾶξις, ἕξω ἕξις, μέμψω μέμψις, λέξω λέξις; thus too ἅψω ought to be ἅψις; hence Hesiod more analogically said ἅψις with barytone accent, “and to cut a three-spanned ἅψις with a ten-oared wagon.” It is possible, then, to say that, since ἁψίς lengthens the ι, as is shown by “lest perhaps, as with ἁψῖσι of flax, you be caught” (Il. Ε 487), for this reason it is also accented on the acute. Disyllables in -βις are accented either on the acute or are barytone: and the paronyms are accented on the acute, e.g. λαβίς from λαβή, and adjectives such as Λεσβίς, and those that lengthen the ι, such as βαλβίς; but those not so constituted are barytone: ἶβις; Ἄρβις, a river of India and a people (it is also said Ἄραβις); Νίβις, a city of Egypt (Phlegon, in the 140th Olympiad); Τάβις, a city of Arabia (Hecataeus, in the Periegesis of Egypt); Νάρβις, a city of Illyria; Ζόμβις, a city of Media; Χέμβις, an island at Buto, as Hecataeus says in the Periegesis of Egypt: “at Buto, near the sanctuary of Leto, there is an island named Χέμβις, sacred to Apollo; and the island is raised up and floats around and moves upon the water.” Polysyllables in -βις are accented either on the acute or on the antepenult: the paronyms and adjectives are accented on the acute, Νιοβίς, Λυκαμβίς, Περραιβίς, Κανωβίς, Ἐρεμβίς, Τορρηβίς: “and in the Tορρηβίς there is a mountain, Karios…”