ἐφιάλτης

See also: Ἐφιάλτης

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἐπιάλτης (epiáltēs)

Etymology

No certain etymology. Historically connected with ἐφάλλομαι (ephállomai, “to throw oneself onto somebody”), but this explanation is considered folk etymological by Beekes. Leumann sustained that this word is related to ἠπίαλος (ēpíalos, “ague, fever”); if that's the case, then the word could be of Pre-Greek origin.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /e.pʰi.ál.tɛːs/ → /e.ɸiˈal.tis/ → /e.fiˈal.tis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /e.pʰi.ál.tɛːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /e.pʰiˈal.te̝s/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /e.ɸiˈal.tis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /e.fiˈal.tis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /e.fiˈal.tis/

Noun

ἐφῐάλτης • (ephĭáltēs) m (genitive ἐφῐάλτου); first declension

1. nightmare, conceived as a throttling demon

Inflection

First declension of ὁ ἐφῐάλτης; τοῦ ἐφῐάλτου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ἐφῐάλτης ho ephĭáltēs	τὼ ἐφῐάλτᾱ tṑ ephĭáltā	οἱ ἐφῐάλται hoi ephĭáltai
Genitive	τοῦ ἐφῐάλτου toû ephĭáltou	τοῖν ἐφῐάλταιν toîn ephĭáltain	τῶν ἐφῐαλτῶν tôn ephĭaltôn
Dative	τῷ ἐφῐάλτῃ tôi ephĭáltēi	τοῖν ἐφῐάλταιν toîn ephĭáltain	τοῖς ἐφῐάλταις toîs ephĭáltais
Accusative	τὸν ἐφῐάλτην tòn ephĭáltēn	τὼ ἐφῐάλτᾱ tṑ ephĭáltā	τοὺς ἐφῐάλτᾱς toùs ephĭáltās
Vocative	ἐφῐάλτᾰ ephĭáltă	ἐφῐάλτᾱ ephĭáltā	ἐφῐάλται ephĭáltai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἐφιαλτεία (ephialteía)
• ἐφιαλτικός (ephialtikós)
• ἐφιάλτιον (ephiáltion)

Descendants

• Greek: εφιάλτης (efiáltis)

Further reading

• “ἐφιάλτης”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἐφιάλτης”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ἐφιάλτης in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἐφιάλτης”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 487-488