πέλτη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

πέλτᾱ (péltā) – Doric

Etymology

Perhaps a loanword from Thracian considering the origin of this type of shield. Usually connected with Latin pellis (“skin”) and Ancient Greek πέλμα (pélma, “sole of the foot”), so from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover”).

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pél.tɛː/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpel.te̝/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpel.ti/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpel.ti/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpel.ti/

Noun

πέλτη • (péltē) f (genitive πέλτης); first declension

A small light shield of leather without a rim, used by Thracians
A horse's ornament

Inflection

First declension of ἡ πέλτη; τῆς πέλτης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ πέλτη hē péltē	τὼ πέλτᾱ tṑ péltā	αἱ πέλται hai péltai
Genitive	τῆς πέλτης tês péltēs	τοῖν πέλταιν toîn péltain	τῶν πελτῶν tôn peltôn
Dative	τῇ πέλτῃ têi péltēi	τοῖν πέλταιν toîn péltain	ταῖς πέλταις taîs péltais
Accusative	τὴν πέλτην tḕn péltēn	τὼ πέλτᾱ tṑ péltā	τᾱ̀ς πέλτᾱς tā̀s péltās
Vocative	πέλτη péltē	πέλτᾱ péltā	πέλται péltai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

πελτίον (peltíon)
πελτίδιον (peltídion)
πελτάριον (peltárion)
πελτάζω (peltázō)
πελταστής (peltastḗs)
πελτοφόρος (peltophóros)

Descendants

Latin: pelta

References

“πέλτη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
πέλτη 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