κόλαξ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

A colloquial Attic word without established etymology. According to Beekes, it could be of Pre-Greek origin, due to the suffix -ακ- (-ak-).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kó.laks/ → /ˈko.laks/ → /ˈko.laks/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kó.laks/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈko.laks/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈko.laks/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈko.laks/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈko.laks/

Noun

κόλᾰξ • (kólăx) m (genitive κόλᾰκος); third declension (Attic)

1. flatterer, fawner
   • 421 BCE, Aristophanes, Peace 756:

     ἑκατὸν δὲ κύκλῳ κεφαλαὶ κολάκων οἰμωξομένων ἐλιχμῶντο / περὶ τὴν κεφαλήν

     hekatòn dè kúklōi kephalaì kolákōn oimōxoménōn elikhmônto / perì tḕn kephalḗn

   • 445 BCE – 380 BCE, Lysias, Against Ergocles 4
   • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Phaedrus 240b

Declension

Third declension of ὁ κόλᾰξ; τοῦ κόλᾰκος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ κόλᾰξ ho kólăx	τὼ κόλᾰκε tṑ kólăke	οἱ κόλᾰκες hoi kólăkes
Genitive	τοῦ κόλᾰκος toû kólăkos	τοῖν κολᾰ́κοιν toîn kolắkoin	τῶν κολᾰ́κων tôn kolắkōn
Dative	τῷ κόλᾰκῐ tôi kólăkĭ	τοῖν κολᾰ́κοιν toîn kolắkoin	τοῖς κόλᾰξῐ / κόλᾰξῐν toîs kólăxĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸν κόλᾰκᾰ tòn kólăkă	τὼ κόλᾰκε tṑ kólăke	τοὺς κόλᾰκᾰς toùs kólăkăs
Vocative	κόλᾰξ kólăx	κόλᾰκε kólăke	κόλᾰκες kólăkes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• δημοκόλᾰξ (dēmokólăx)
• κολᾰκείᾱ (kolăkeíā)
• κολᾰκεύω (kolăkeúō)
• κολᾰκῐκός (kolăkĭkós)
• Κολᾰκώνῠμος (Kolăkṓnŭmos)

Further reading

• “κόλαξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• κόλαξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• “κόλαξ”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011