COMPOUND: νηλής, –ές
CATEGORIZATION: A [Part+N+Suf]
MEANING: ‘pitiless, ruthless’
ETYMOLOGY: ν- negative part. ‘un-‘ + noun stem ἔλε- (ἔλεος) ‘pity, mercy, compassion’ + adj. suf. -ής, -ές
OCCURRENCE: Il. III, 292; IV, 348; V, 330; IX, 497; 632; X, 443; XI, 484, 588; XII, 427; XIII, 501, 514, 553; XV, 375; XVI, 33, 204, 345, 561, 761; XVII, 376, 511, 615; XIX, 229, 266; XXI, 57; Od. IV, 743; VIII, 507, 525; IX, 17, 272, 287, 368; X, 532; XI, 45; XII, 372; XIV, 418; XVIII, 86; XXI, 300; XXII, 475.
CASE/GENDER/NUMBER: nom. m. sg., dat. m. sg., dat. n. sg., acc. m. sg., acc. n. sg.
HEADEDNESS: exocentric
CLASSIFICATION: attributive – bahuvrῑhi
NOTES: ep. n. νηλεές; ep. also νηλειής, -ές; vowel lengthening -ε- > -η- in compounding; first member is not a free word in Greek