- ἆρα
- ἆρᾰ, interrog. Particle, implyingA anxiety or impatience, = [dialect] Ep. and Lyr. ἦ ῥα:1 alone, it simply marks the question, the nature of which is determined by the context: e.g. in D.35.44 a negative answer is implied in the question ἆρ' ἂν οἴεσθε . . ; but an affirmative in X.Cyr.4.6.4 ἆ. βέβληκα δὶς ἐφεξῆς; cf. ἆρ' εὐτυχεῖς . . ἢ δυστυχεῖς; E.Ph.424.—To make it plainly neg., we have ἆ. μή . . ; A.Th.208, Pl.Phd.64c; and to make it plainly affirmative, ἆρ' οὐ; ἆρ' οὐχί; S. OC791, OT540; ἆρ' οὐχ οὕτως; Pl.Phlb.11d.2 ἆ. οὖν; is used to draw an affirmative inference, Id.Grg.477a, La.190b; also when a neg. answer is expected, Id.Chrm.159b; with a neg., ἆρ' οὖν οὐ . . ; Id.Phdr.263a, etc.3 in ἆρά γε, each Particle retains its force, γε serving to make the question more definite, Ar.Pl.546, X.Mem.1.5.4, etc.4 less freq. with τίς interrog.,
τίνος ποτ' ἆρ' ἔπραξε χειρί S.Aj.905
; τίδ' ἆρ' ἐγὼ σέ; E.IA1228;τίς ἆρ' ὁ φεύγων; Ar.V.893
; with ἤν, E.Rh.118.5 in indirect questions, σκεψώμεθα τοῦτο ἆ . . . Pl.Phd.70e, cf. R.526c, al., Arist.Ph.204b3, etc.II in Poets sts. like ἄρα, Archil.86,89, Pi.P.4.78, Ar.V.3;τοιοῖσδε χρησμοῖς ἆ. χρὴ πεποιθέναι; A.Ch.297
, cf.435;τῷ δὲ ξιφήρης ἆρ' ὑφειστήκει λόχος E. Andr.1114
: in exclamations,βραδεῖαν ἡμᾶς ἆρ' ὁ τήνδε τὴν ὁδὸν πέμπων ἔπεμψεν S.Aj.738
;ὀδυνηρὸς ἆρ' ὁ πλοῦτος E.Ph.566
, cf.El.1229, Hipp.1086;ἦ δεινὸν ἆρ' ἦν Id.Fr.931
;ἔμελλόν σ' ἆ. κινήσειν Ar.Nu. 1301
, cf. Ach.347.B In Prose, ἆ. almost always stands first in the sentence, but cf. Pl.Grg.467e; καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων ἆ. . . Jul.Or.2.61c: in Poetry greater licence is taken, v. supr. 1.4,11.
Greek-English dictionary (Αγγλικά Ελληνικά-λεξικό). 2014.