ἀσπίς

See also: Ασπίς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

For the "shield" sense, traditionally derived from ἀ- (a-) +‎ σπίζω (spízō, “to extend”). Beekes implicitly rejects this theory, and instead endorses Melchet's derivation from Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp-i-s, from *h₂esp- (“to cut”), whence also Latin asper (“rough, sharp”), Hittite [script needed] (ḫasp-, “to cut down”).

The "snake" sense is most likely a semantic extension of the "shield" sense above, named after the "shield" formed by the cobra's neck when it rises up or attacks.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /as.pís/ → /asˈpis/ → /asˈpis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /as.pís/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /asˈpis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /asˈpis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /asˈpis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /asˈpis/

Noun

ᾰ̓σπίς • (aspís) f (genitive ᾰ̓σπίδος); third declension

1. shield
2. collective, body of men-at-arms
3. (military) on the left

   Antonym: δόρυ (dóru)

4. a round, flat bowl
5. a boss or knob on a door
6. asp, Egyptian cobra
7. ornament in the form of an asp

Declension

Third declension of ἡ ᾰ̓σπῐ́ς; τῆς ᾰ̓σπῐ́δος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ᾰ̓σπῐ́ς hē aspís	τὼ ᾰ̓σπῐ́δε tṑ aspíde	αἱ ᾰ̓σπῐ́δες hai aspídes
Genitive	τῆς ᾰ̓σπῐ́δος tês aspídos	τοῖν ᾰ̓σπῐ́δοιν toîn aspídoin	τῶν ᾰ̓σπῐ́δων tôn aspídōn
Dative	τῇ ᾰ̓σπῐ́δῐ têi aspídi	τοῖν ᾰ̓σπῐ́δοιν toîn aspídoin	ταῖς ᾰ̓σπῐ́σῐ / ᾰ̓σπῐ́σῐν taîs aspísi(n)
Accusative	τὴν ᾰ̓σπῐ́δᾰ tḕn aspída	τὼ ᾰ̓σπῐ́δε tṑ aspíde	τᾱ̀ς ᾰ̓σπῐ́δᾰς tā̀s aspídas
Vocative	ἀσπί aspí	ᾰ̓σπῐ́δε aspíde	ᾰ̓σπῐ́δες aspídes
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

• ἀσπιδιώτης (aspidiṓtēs)
• ἀσπιδοποιός (aspidopoiós)
• ἀσπιδοχελώνη (aspidokhelṓnē)
• ἀσπιστής (aspistḗs)

 

Descendants

• → English: aspis
• Greek: ασπίδα (aspída)
• → Latin: aspis (see there for further descendants)
• → Ukrainian: га́спид (háspyd), а́спид (áspyd), а́спід (áspid)

Further reading

• “ἀσπίς”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἀσπίς”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἀσπίς”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἀσπίς in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀσπίς in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἀσπίς in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “ἀσπίς”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G785 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • buckler idem, page 102.
  • shield idem, page 765.
• Index in Eustathii commentarios in Homeri Iliadem et Odysseam By Matthaeus Devarius Page 71
• “ἀσπίς”, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011