λάβδα

Ancient Greek

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Λ λ   –   English: lambda

Alternative forms

• λάμβδα (lámbda)

Etymology

Borrowed from Phoenician 𐤋 (l‬ /⁠lāmed⁠/).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /láb.da/ → /ˈlaβ.ða/ → /ˈlav.ða/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /láb.da/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈlab.da/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈlaβ.ða/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈlav.ða/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈlav.ða/

Noun

λᾰ́βδᾰ • (lábda) n (indeclinable)

1. lambda, the name for the eleventh letter Λ, λ of the Ancient Greek alphabet.
   • 391 BCE, Aristophanes, Assemblywomen 920
   • 446 BCE – 411 BCE, Eupolis, Collected Works 359
   • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Cratylus 434c
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, History of Animals 514b.18
   • 250 CE – 350 CE, Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 10.453d
   • 110 BCE – 35 BCE, Philodemus, On Poems 2
   • 110 BCE – 35 BCE, Philodemus, Fragments 42

Synonyms

• (lambda): λάλ (lál) (Koine Greek)

Derived terms

• λαβδᾰκισμός (labdakismós)
• λαβδοειδής (labdoeidḗs)
• λάβδωμα (lábdōma)

Descendants

• Greek: λάμδα (lámda)

References

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