ὕσπληξ
Ancient Greek
Alternative forms
- ὕσπλαγξ (húsplanx) – Doric
- ὕσπληγξ (húsplēnx)
Etymology
Traditionally analysed as a compound of ὗς (hûs, “swine”) and πλήσσω (plḗssō, “to struck, smite”). In view of the variants with pre-nasalization, however, a Pre-Greek origin seems the most likely option.
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /hýs.plɛːks/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈ(h)ys.ple̝ks/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈys.pliks/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈys.pliks/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈis.pliks/
Noun
ὕσπληξ • (húsplēx) f (genitive ὕσπληγος); third declension
- snare or gin of a birdcatcher
- part of a spring or noose which slips down when touched
- twisted strand
- contrivance for starting a race
Inflection
Third declension of ἡ ὕσπληξ; τῆς ὕσπληγος (Attic)
Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominative | ἡ ὕσπληξ hē húsplēx | τὼ ὕσπληγε tṑ húsplēge | αἱ ὕσπληγες hai húsplēges | ||||||||||
Genitive | τῆς ὕσπληγος tês húsplēgos | τοῖν ὑσπλήγοιν toîn husplḗgoin | τῶν ὑσπλήγων tôn husplḗgōn | ||||||||||
Dative | τῇ ὕσπληγῐ têi húsplēgi | τοῖν ὑσπλήγοιν toîn husplḗgoin | ταῖς ὕσπληξῐ / ὕσπληξῐν taîs húsplēxi(n) | ||||||||||
Accusative | τὴν ὕσπληγᾰ tḕn húsplēga | τὼ ὕσπληγε tṑ húsplēge | τᾱ̀ς ὕσπληγᾰς tā̀s húsplēgas | ||||||||||
Vocative | ὕσπληξ húsplēx | ὕσπληγε húsplēge | ὕσπληγες húsplēges | ||||||||||
Notes: |
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Further reading
- “ὕσπληξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ὕσπληξ 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