ἄσπετος

aspetos

unspeakable, unutterable

Appears 34 times across Homer's epics.

Frequency by work

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Dictionary (LSJ)

ἄσπετος, ον, Ep. Adj. A. unspeakable, unutterable; mostly in sense of unspeakably great, ἄ. αἰθήρ, ῥόος Ὠκεανοῖο, ὕλη, ὕδωρ, Il. 8.558, 18.403, 23.127, Od. 5.101; ἀλκή Il. 16.157; less freq. of number, countless, ἄσπετα πολλά Od. 4.75; κρέα ἄσπετα 9.162; τρεῖτʼ ἄσπετον ye tremble unspeakably, Il. 17.332, cf. Q.S. 11.127; φωνὴ ῥεῖ ἄσπετος flows on unceasingly, h. Ven.237; ἄσπετος αἰών endless time, Emp. 16.—Chiefly Epic, but found in Lyric, ἄσπετοι μέριμναι B. 18.34, and rarely in Trag., θαῦμα S. Tr. 961 (lyr.); χάλαζα E. Tr. 78; δρυὸς ἄ. ἔρνος Cyc. 615 (lyr.); later Prose, λείας ἄ. πλῆθος f.l. for ἄπλετον, Plb. 3.92.8. (ἀ- priv. + root seqṷ, cf. ἔννεπε, ἔσπετε (*ἐν-σπετε), Lat. insece.) A lengthd. form ἀάσπετος is used by Q.S. 3.673, 7.193, al.
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