Perispomenon
In Ancient Greek grammar, a perispomenon is a word with a high-low pitch contour on the last syllable, indicated in writing by a tilde diacritic or an inverted breve accent mark in native transcriptions with the Greek alphabet, or by a circumflex accent mark in transcriptions with the Latin alphabet. A properispomenon has the same kind of accent, but on the penultimate syllable.
Examples:
- θεοῦ, theoû, "of a god", is a perispomenon
- πρᾶξις prâxis "business" is a properispomenon
Etymology
Peri-spṓmenon means "pronounced with a circumflex", the neuter of the present passive participle of peri-spáō "pronounce with a circumflex". Pro-peri-spṓmenon adds the prefix pró "before". περισπωμένη, perispomeni, is the Greek name for the accent marks used above Greek letters, also known as ὀξύβαρυς, oxýbarys, "high-low" or "acute-grave", and its original form as a circumflex accent was combining the acute and grave pitch accents occurring successively only in bimoraic syllables.