πέλεκυς

πέλεκυς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Compare Sanskrit परशु (paraśú, “axe”) and Ossetian фӕрӕт (færæt, “axe”). This word often considered a Wanderwort, with similarity to Akkadian 𒁄 (pilakku, pilaqqu, “wooden handle; spindle, harp”), itself from Sumerian 𒁄 (balag, “wooden handle; spindle, harp; possibly a split piece of wood or wooden wedge”); compare Arabic فَلَقَ‎ (falaqa, “to split apart”) and πέλεκκον (pélekkon, “axe handle”). This has led some to suggest that the Proto-Indo-European terms are ultimately borrowed through the Akkadian or a Semitic source. Furnée points to βέλεκκος (bélekkos, “kind of pulse”), suggesting a Pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pé.le.kys/ → /ˈpe.le.cys/ → /ˈpe.le.cis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pé.le.kys/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.kys/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.cys/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.cys/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.cis/

Noun

πέλεκῠς • (pélekus) m (genitive πελέκεως); third declension

1. two-edged axe for felling trees
2. battle axe, executioner's axe

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ πέλεκῠς; τοῦ πελέκεως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ πέλεκῠς ho pélekus	τὼ πελέκει tṑ pelékei	οἱ πελέκεις hoi pelékeis
Genitive	τοῦ πελέκεως toû pelékeōs	τοῖν πελεκέοιν toîn pelekéoin	τῶν πελέκεων tôn pelékeōn
Dative	τῷ πελέκει tôi pelékei	τοῖν πελεκέοιν toîn pelekéoin	τοῖς πελέκεσῐ / πελέκεσῐν toîs pelékesi(n)
Accusative	τὸν πέλεκῠν tòn pélekun	τὼ πελέκει tṑ pelékei	τοὺς πελέκεις toùs pelékeis
Vocative	πέλεκῠ péleku	πελέκει pelékei	πελέκεις pelékeis
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of πέλεκῠς; πελέκεος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	πέλεκῠς pélekus	πελέκει pelékei	πελέκεες pelékees
Genitive	πελέκεος pelékeos	πελεκέοιῐν pelekéoiin	πελέκεων pelékeōn
Dative	πελέκει pelékei	πελεκέοιῐν pelekéoiin	πελέκεσσι / πελέκεσσιν pelékessi(n)
Accusative	πέλεκῠν pélekun	πελέκει pelékei	πελέκεᾰς pelékeas
Vocative	πέλεκῠ péleku	πελέκει pelékei	πελέκεες pelékees
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ἑξαπέλεκυς (hexapélekus)
• πελεκάω (pelekáō)
• πελέκημα (pelékēma)
• πελέκησις (pelékēsis)
• πελεκητής (pelekētḗs)
• πελεκητός (pelekētós)
• πελεκητρίς (pelekētrís)
• πελεκήτωρ (pelekḗtōr)
• πελεκίζω (pelekízō)
• πελεκῑνοειδής (pelekīnoeidḗs)
• πελεκῖνος (pelekînos)
• πελέκιον (pelékion)
• πελεκισμός (pelekismós)
• πελεκοφόρος (pelekophóros)
• πελεκυνάριον (pelekunárion)
• σφυροπέλεκυς (sphuropélekus)

 

Descendants

• Greek: πέλεκυς (pélekys)

Further reading

• “πέλεκυς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “πέλεκυς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• πέλεκυς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

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Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πέλεκυς (pélekus), cognate with Sanskrit परशु (paraśú, “axe”), which would reflect Proto-Indo-European *peleḱús if reconstructed back to PIE.[1] Beekes suggested a Pre-Greek origin[2]. Compare also German Beil (“axe”) as well as Hungarian and Turkish balta, both meaning "axe."

Noun

πέλεκυς • (pélekys) m (plural πελέκεις)

1. battle axe, double-headed axe

Declension

declension of πέλεκυς

case     \\     number	singular	plural
nominative	πέλεκυς •	πελέκεις •
genitive	πέλεκυ •	πελέκεων •
accusative	πέλεκυ •	πελέκεις •
vocative	πέλεκυ •	πελέκεις •
there is an alternative genitive singular: πελέκεως •

Related terms

• πελέκι n (peléki, “axe”)
• τσεκούρι n (tsekoúri, “axe”)

References

1. J. P. Mallory, D. Q. Adams, The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European (2006, →ISBN): "We find cognates in Grk pélekus, Oss færæt, and Skt paraśú, and the proto-form is often compared with Semitic forms, e.g. Akkadian pilakku which some translate as 'axe' but others translate as 'spindle', which is semantically very distant."
2. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), “πέλεκυς”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, pages 1166-1167

Further reading

• Kaulins, Ancient Signs: The Alphabet and the Origins of Writing
• πέλεκυς on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el