πάλαι

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“far (in time or space)”). However, it has been argued (e.g. by Chadwick) that Mycenaean Greek 𐀞𐀨𐀍 (pa-ra-jo), 𐀞𐀨𐀊 (pa-ra-ja, “old”) are related, therefore precluding the popularly held etymology with an initial labiovelar. Beekes instead compares the Mycenaean to *pelh₂- (“to approach”).

A frozen case-form (perhaps an old dative or fossilized PIE allative), as indicated by the ending -αι (-ai); compare χαμαί (khamaí). See also Sanskrit पलित (palita, “old, hairy, grey”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pá.lai̯/ → /ˈpa.lɛ/ → /ˈpa.le/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pá.lai̯/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.lɛ/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.lɛ/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.le/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.le/

Adverb

πάλαι • (pálai)

1. (of a point in the past)
   1. long ago, in days past
      • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.2.1:

        φαίνεται γὰρ ἡ νῦν Ἑλλὰς καλουμένη οὐ πάλαι βεβαίως οἰκουμένη

        phaínetai gàr hē nûn Hellàs kalouménē ou pálai bebaíōs oikouménē

        For apparently what is now called Hellas was not constantly inhabited in times past

   2. of past time closer to the present: before, earlier, a while ago
      • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Cr. 43b:

        Σωκράτης: ἄρτι δὲ ἥκεις ἢ πάλαι;
        Κρίτων: ἐπιεικῶς πάλαι.

        Sōkrátēs: árti dè hḗkeis ḕ pálai;
        Krítōn: epieikôs pálai.

        Socrates: Did you arrive just now or a while ago?
        Crito: Quite a while ago.

   3. with a present-tense verb since a point in the past, for a long time
      • 386 BCE – 367 BCE, Plato, Meno 93b:

        τοῦτ’ ἔστιν ὃ πάλαι ζητοῦμεν ἐγώ τε καὶ Μένων.

        toût’ éstin hò pálai zētoûmen egṓ te kaì Ménōn.

        This is what Meno and I have been trying to figure out for a while.

Derived terms

• παλαιγενής (palaigenḗs)
• παλαιός (palaiós, “old”)

Further reading

• “πάλαι”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “πάλαι”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “πάλαι”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• πάλαι in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• πάλαι in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “πάλαι”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G3819 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • ago idem, page 19.
  • anciently idem, page 29.
  • before idem, page 69.
  • formerly idem, page 339.
  • long idem, page 498.
  • one idem, page 573.
  • past idem, page 597.
  • purify idem, page 658.
  • yore idem, page 997.