ἅλως

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἀλωή (alōḗ) — Epic
• ἀλωά (alōá) — Doric

Etymology

Probably from Pre-Greek. Compare, however, Albanian lëmë and its proto-form.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /há.lɔːs/ → /ˈa.los/ → /ˈa.los/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /há.lɔːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)a.los/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.los/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.los/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈa.los/

Noun

ἅλως • (hálōs) f (genitive ἅλω); second declension

1. threshing floor
2. grain on the floor
3. disk (of the sun, the moon, or a shield)
4. halo
5. serpent's coil
6. bird's nest
7. ciliary body of the eye
8. circular piazza at Delphi

Inflection

Attic second declension of ἡ ἅλως; τῆς ἅλω (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἅλως hē hálōs	τὼ ἅλω tṑ hálō	αἱ ἅλῳ hai hálōi
Genitive	τῆς ἅλω tês hálō	τοῖν ἅλῳν toîn hálōin	τῶν ἅλων tôn hálōn
Dative	τῇ ἅλῳ têi hálōi	τοῖν ἅλῳν toîn hálōin	ταῖς ἅλῳς taîs hálōis
Accusative	τὴν ἅλω / ἅλων tḕn hálō(n)	τὼ ἅλω tṑ hálō	τᾱ̀ς ἅλως tā̀s hálōs
Vocative	ἅλως hálōs	ἅλω hálō	ἅλῳ hálōi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• Εὐρύαλος (Eurúalos)

Descendants

• Greek: αλώνι (alóni), άλως (álos)
• → Latin: halōs
  • → English: halo
  • → French: halo
• → Old Armenian: կալ (kal) (semantic loan)

Further reading

• “ἅλως”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἅλως”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἅλως in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette