σπιθαμή
Ancient Greek
Etymology
The formation is similar to παλάμη (palámē, “palm of the hand”), δόχμη (dókhmē, “breadth of the hand”) and πυγμή (pugmḗ, “distance between the elbow and the knuckles”). According to Beekes, it's probably from Pre-Greek.
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /spi.tʰa.mɛ̌ː/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /spi.tʰaˈme̝/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /spi.θaˈmi/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /spi.θaˈmi/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /spi.θaˈmi/
Noun
σπῐθᾰμή • (spithamḗ) f (genitive σπῐθᾰμῆς); first declension
- span, also as a fixed measure
Inflection
First declension of ἡ σπῐθᾰμή; τῆς σπῐθᾰμῆς (Attic)
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ἡ σπῐθᾰμή hē spithamḗ | τὼ σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ tṑ spithamā́ | αἱ σπῐθᾰμαί hai spithamaí | ||||||||||
Genitive | τῆς σπῐθᾰμῆς tês spithamês | τοῖν σπῐθᾰμαῖν toîn spithamaîn | τῶν σπῐθᾰμῶν tôn spithamôn | ||||||||||
Dative | τῇ σπῐθᾰμῇ têi spithamêi | τοῖν σπῐθᾰμαῖν toîn spithamaîn | ταῖς σπῐθᾰμαῖς taîs spithamaîs | ||||||||||
Accusative | τὴν σπῐθᾰμήν tḕn spithamḗn | τὼ σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ tṑ spithamā́ | τᾱ̀ς σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ς tā̀s spithamā́s | ||||||||||
Vocative | σπῐθᾰμή spithamḗ | σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ spithamā́ | σπῐθᾰμαί spithamaí | ||||||||||
Notes: |
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Derived terms
- σπιθαμιαῖος (spithamiaîos)
- τρισπίθαμος (trispíthamos)
Further reading
- “σπιθαμή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- σπιθαμή 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