σμῆνος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ζμῆνος (zmênos)
• σμᾶνος (smânos) — Doric

Etymology

The formation can be compared with ἔθνος (éthnos), ἔρνος (érnos) and τέμενος (témenos). An alternative spelling ζμῆνος (zmênos) is also attested in some papyri and inscriptions, possibly reflecting the voicing of initial /s/ to /z/. According to Beekes, a Pre-Greek origin is a good possibility.

The original meaning was probably swarm of bees rather than beehive.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /zmɛ̂ː.nos/ → /ˈzmi.nos/ → /ˈzmi.nos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /zmɛ̂ː.nos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈzme̝.nos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈzmi.nos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈzmi.nos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈzmi.nos/

Noun

σμῆνος • (smênos) n (genitive σμήνους); third declension

1. beehive, skep
   • 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Theogony 594–595:

     ὡς δ' ὁπότ' ἐν σμήνεσσι κατηρεφέεσσι μέλισσαι
     κηφῆνας βόσκωσι, κακῶν ξυνήονας ἔργων·

     hōs d' hopót' en smḗnessi katērephéessi mélissai
     kēphênas bóskōsi, kakôn xunḗonas érgōn;

     like when bees in vaulted hives
     feed the drones, partners in base deeds.

2. swarm of bees
   • 472 BCE, Aeschylus, The Persians 126–129:

     πᾶς γὰρ ἱππηλάτας / καὶ πεδοστιβὴς λεὼς /
     σμῆνος ὣς ἐκλέλοιπεν μελισ- / σᾶν σὺν ὀρχάμῳ στρατοῦ

     pâs gàr hippēlátas / kaì pedostibḕs leṑs /
     smênos hṑs ekléloipen melis- / sân sùn orkhámōi stratoû

     You see, all men, the cavalry and infantry,
     like a swarm of bees, have left with the leader of the army

   1. swarm in general, crowd
      • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Fragments , (quoted in Porphyry's "On the Cave of the Nymphs in the Odyssey"):

        βομβεῖ δὲ νεκρῶν σμῆνος ἔρχεταί τ᾿ ἄνω

        a swarm of dead people hums and rises up

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ σμῆνος; τοῦ σμήνους (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Plural
Nominative	τὸ σμῆνος tò smênos	τᾰ̀ σμήνη tà smḗnē
Genitive	τοῦ σμήνους toû smḗnous	τῶν σμηνῶν tôn smēnôn
Dative	τῷ σμήνει tôi smḗnei	τοῖς σμήνεσῐ / σμήνεσῐν toîs smḗnesi(n)
Accusative	τὸ σμῆνος tò smênos	τᾰ̀ σμήνη tà smḗnē
Vocative	σμῆνος smênos	σμήνη smḗnē
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of σμῆνος; σμήνεος (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Plural
Nominative	σμῆνος smênos	σμήνεᾰ smḗnea
Genitive	σμήνεος / σμήνευς smḗneos / smḗneus	σμηνέων smēnéōn
Dative	σμήνει / σμήνεῐ̈ smḗnei / smḗneï	σμήνεσσῐ / σμήνεσσῐν smḗnessi / smḗnessin
Accusative	σμῆνος smênos	σμήνεᾰ smḗnea
Vocative	σμῆνος smênos	σμήνεᾰ smḗnea
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• σμηνηδόν (smēnēdón)
• σμηνίον (smēníon)
• σμηνιών (smēniṓn)
• σμηνοδόκος (smēnodókos)
• σμηνοκόμος (smēnokómos)
• σμηνουργός (smēnourgós)
• φιλόσμηνος (philósmēnos)

 

Descendants

• Greek: σμήνος (smínos)

Further reading

• “σμῆνος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σμῆνος 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
• “σμῆνος”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011