σπάθη

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *sph₂-dʰh₁-éh₂, from *(s)peh₂- (“to draw”) (compare σπάω (spáō)) + *dʰeh₁- (“to do; put”) + feminine ending *-eh₂. Cognate with Proto-Germanic *spadô, Hittite 𒅖𒉺𒀀𒋻 (išpatar, “spear”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /spá.tʰɛː/ → /ˈspa.θi/ → /ˈspa.θi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spá.tʰɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.tʰe̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.θi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.θi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.θi/

Noun

σπᾰ́θη • (spáthē) f (genitive σπᾰ́θης); first declension

1. any broad blade, of wood or metal
   1. a flat wooden blade used by ancient weavers in their upright loom for striking the woof home
   2. a spaddle or spattle used for stirring, especially for medical purposes
   3. the paddle or blade of an oar

      Synonym: πλάτη (plátē)

   4. the broad ribs
   5. the shoulder blade
   6. the broad blade of a sword
   7. a scraper for currying horses
   8. the stem of a palm-frond
   9. the spathe of the flower of many plants, especially palms

Inflection

First declension of ἡ σπᾰ́θη; τῆς σπᾰ́θης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σπᾰ́θη hē spáthē	τὼ σπᾰ́θᾱ tṑ spáthā	αἱ σπᾰ́θαι hai spáthai
Genitive	τῆς σπᾰ́θης tês spáthēs	τοῖν σπᾰ́θαιν toîn spáthain	τῶν σπᾰθῶν tôn spathôn
Dative	τῇ σπᾰ́θῃ têi spáthēi	τοῖν σπᾰ́θαιν toîn spáthain	ταῖς σπᾰ́θαις taîs spáthais
Accusative	τὴν σπᾰ́θην tḕn spáthēn	τὼ σπᾰ́θᾱ tṑ spáthā	τᾱ̀ς σπᾰ́θᾱς tā̀s spáthās
Vocative	σπᾰ́θη spáthē	σπᾰ́θᾱ spáthā	σπᾰ́θαι spáthai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• σπαθαρία (spatharía)
• σπαθαρικόν (spatharikón)
• σπαθάριος (spathários)
• σπαθαρίσκος (spatharískos)
• σπαθάω (spatháō)
• σπάθημα (spáthēma)
• σπάθησις (spáthēsis)
• σπαθητός (spathētós)
• σπαθηφόρος (spathēphóros)
• σπαθίας (spathías)
• σπαθίζω (spathízō)
• σπαθίνης (spathínēs)
• σπαθίον (spathíon)
• σπαθίουρος (spathíouros)
• σπαθίς (spathís)
• σπάθισμα (spáthisma)
• σπαθίτης (spathítēs)

 

Descendants

• Greek: σπαθί (spathí)
  • → Bulgarian: спатия (spatija)
• → Latin: spatha (see there for further descendants)

References

• “σπάθη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “σπάθη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• σπάθη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • blade idem, page 81.
  • comb idem, page 144.
  • shuttle idem, page 772.
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σπάθη”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), volume II, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1374