ὄπισθεν, in
Ionic dialect [
Refs 5th c.BC+] and late
Attic dialect [
Refs 2nd c.AD+]
ὄπισθε before a
consonant, as also in Poets, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]:
poetry also
ὄπῐθεν [
Refs 8th c.BC+]:—
adverb:
I) of Place,
behind, at the back, opposed to πρόσθε, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὄπιθεν κομόωντες with long
back-hair, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὄ. ἕπεσθαι, ἀκολουθεῖν, [
Refs 4th c.BC+] [same place], etc; οἱ ὄπιθεν
those who are left behind, e.g. at home, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; but also,
those who are in the rear, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἰ τοὺς ὄ. ἐς τὸ πρόσθεν ἄξομεν shall bring the
rear ranks to the front (
metaphorically), [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; αἱ ὄ. ἁψῖδες the
hinder fellies, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὰ ὄ. the
hinder parts, rear, back, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]
back, backwards, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; εἰς τ. τοξεύειν, i. e.
'versis sagittis', like the Parthians, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὄ. ποιήσασθαι τὸν ποταμόν place the river
in his rear, [
Refs]
I.2)
preposition with
genitive,
behind, στῆ δ᾽ ὄπιθεν δίφροιο [
Refs 8th c.BC+]: sometimes after its case, δίφρου ὄπισθεν [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; ἴμεν φάμας ὄπισθεν
follow the voice, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]
II) of Time,
after, in future, hereafter, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; either of a thing absolutely future, or of one which follows something else, opposed to αὐτίκα, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]
II.2) ἐν τοῖσι ὄ. λόγοισι in the books
yet to come, in the
following books, [
Refs 5th c.BC+]: but, in Grammars, of what has gone before, [
Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὁ ὄπιθεν χρόνος the
earlier time, [
Refs 6th c.AD+] —for _comparative_ ὀπίστερος, _superlative_ ὀπίστατος, (see entry). (Prob. from *ὄπις 'back', contained in ἀνόπιν, κατόπιν, μετόπιν, ὀπίσω.)