πηδόν

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The entry by Beekes in his Etymological Dictionary of Greek reads (in paraphrase):

"From Proto-Indo-European *pēd-ó-, from *ped- (“to walk, step”), the same root of Latvian pēda (“foot”) and Lithuanian pėdà (“foot”). Semantically, the use of "foot" for "rudder" can be explained by the flat form and low position of a ship's rudder."

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pɛː.dón/ → /piˈðon/ → /piˈðon/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pɛː.dón/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /pe̝ˈdon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /piˈðon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /piˈðon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /piˈðon/

Noun

πηδόν • (pēdón) n (genitive πηδοῦ); second declension

1. oar blade, hence generally, oar

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ πηδόν; τοῦ πηδοῦ (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ πηδόν tò pēdón	τὼ πηδώ tṑ pēdṓ	τᾰ̀ πηδᾰ́ tà pēdá
Genitive	τοῦ πηδοῦ toû pēdoû	τοῖν πηδοῖν toîn pēdoîn	τῶν πηδῶν tôn pēdôn
Dative	τῷ πηδῷ tôi pēdôi	τοῖν πηδοῖν toîn pēdoîn	τοῖς πηδοῖς toîs pēdoîs
Accusative	τὸ πηδόν tò pēdón	τὼ πηδώ tṑ pēdṓ	τᾰ̀ πηδᾰ́ tà pēdá
Vocative	πηδόν pēdón	πηδώ pēdṓ	πηδᾰ́ pēdá
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• πηδᾰ́λῐον (pēdálion)

Descendants

• ⇒ Byzantine Greek: *πηδώτης (*pēdṓtēs, “helmsman”)
  • → Italian: pedota, pedotta; pedoto, pedotto
    • ⇒ Italian: pilota; piloto (probably influenced by pileggiare (“to sail, navigate”)) (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• “πηδόν”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “πηδόν”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• πηδόν in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• πηδόν in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963