ψαλίς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain but perhaps related to ψάλιον (psálion, “curb chain”) and ψέλιον (psélion, “armlet”). Maybe from Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /psa.lís/ → /psaˈlis/ → /psaˈlis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /psa.lís/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /psaˈlis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /psaˈlis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /psaˈlis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /psaˈlis/

Noun

ψᾰλίς • (psălís) f (genitive ψᾰλίδος); third declension

1. scissors, shears
2. sewer, drain
3. (architecture) vault, crypt, barrel vault
4. rounded moulding between the capital and the column
5. (in the plural) rings for the staves of the altar of incense

Declension

Third declension of ἡ ψᾰλῐ́ς; τῆς ψᾰλῐ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ψᾰλῐ́ς hē psălĭ́s	τὼ ψᾰλῐ́δε tṑ psălĭ́de	αἱ ψᾰλῐ́δες hai psălĭ́des
Genitive	τῆς ψᾰλῐ́δος tês psălĭ́dos	τοῖν ψᾰλῐ́δοιν toîn psălĭ́doin	τῶν ψᾰλῐ́δων tôn psălĭ́dōn
Dative	τῇ ψᾰλῐ́δῐ têi psălĭ́dĭ	τοῖν ψᾰλῐ́δοιν toîn psălĭ́doin	ταῖς ψᾰλῐ́σῐ / ψᾰλῐ́σῐν taîs psălĭ́sĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν ψᾰλῐ́δᾰ tḕn psălĭ́dă	τὼ ψᾰλῐ́δε tṑ psălĭ́de	τᾱ̀ς ψᾰλῐ́δᾰς tā̀s psălĭ́dăs
Vocative	ψᾰλῐ́ς psălĭ́s	ψᾰλῐ́δε psălĭ́de	ψᾰλῐ́δες psălĭ́des
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ds.

Derived terms

• ψαλίδιον (psalídion)
• ψαλιδοειδής (psalidoeidḗs)
• ψαλιδόστομος (psalidóstomos)
• ψαλιδόω (psalidóō)
• ψαλίδωμα (psalídōma)
• ψαλιδωτός (psalidōtós)
• ψαλίζω (psalízō)
• ψαλισμός (psalismós)
• ψαλιστέον (psalistéon)
• ψαλιστός (psalistós)

Descendants

• Greek: ψαλίδι (psalídi) (through Koine and diminutive ψαλίδιον)
• Mariupol Greek: псалы́дъ (psalýð) (through Koine and diminutive ψαλίδιον)

Further reading

• “ψαλίς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ψαλίς 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