σφέλας

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Furnée concludes from the possible connection with σφαλλός (sphallós, “round block of wood”) that the word is Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /spʰé.las/ → /ˈsɸe.las/ → /ˈsfe.las/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spʰé.las/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈspʰe.las/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsɸe.las/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsfe.las/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsfe.las/

Noun

σφέλᾰς • (sphélăs) n (genitive σφέλᾰος); third declension

1. footstool

   Synonyms: θρῆνυς (thrênus), ὑποπόδιον (hupopódion)

2. pedestal of a statue
3. hollow block of wood, for putting anything into

Declension

Third declension of τὸ σφέλᾰς; τοῦ σφέλᾰος (contracted, Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ σφέλᾰς tò sphélăs	τὼ σφέλᾰε tṑ sphélăe	τᾰ̀ σφέλᾱ tằ sphélā
Genitive	τοῦ σφέλᾰος toû sphélăos	τοῖν σφελᾰ́οιν toîn sphelắoin	τῶν σφελᾰ́ων tôn sphelắōn
Dative	τῷ σφέλᾰῐ̈ tôi sphélăĭ̈	τοῖν σφελᾰ́οιν toîn sphelắoin	τοῖς σφέλᾰσῐ / σφέλᾰσῐν toîs sphélăsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ σφέλᾰς tò sphélăs	τὼ σφέλᾰε tṑ sphélăe	τᾰ̀ σφέλᾱ tằ sphélā
Vocative	σφέλᾰς sphélăs	σφέλᾰε sphélăe	σφέλᾱ sphélā
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἐπισφελίτης (episphelítēs)
• σφελίσκον (sphelískon)

Further reading

• “σφέλας”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “σφέλας”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “σφέλας”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• σφέλας in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• σφέλας in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• 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