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 • (ephiáltēs) 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 ephiáltēs	τὼ ἐφῐάλτᾱ tṑ ephiáltā	οἱ ἐφῐάλται hoi ephiáltai
Genitive	τοῦ ἐφῐάλτου toû ephiáltou	τοῖν ἐφῐάλταιν toîn ephiáltain	τῶν ἐφῐαλτῶν tôn ephialtôn
Dative	τῷ ἐφῐάλτῃ tôi ephiáltēi	τοῖν ἐφῐάλταιν toîn ephiáltain	τοῖς ἐφῐάλταις toîs ephiáltais
Accusative	τὸν ἐφῐάλτην tòn ephiáltēn	τὼ ἐφῐάλτᾱ tṑ ephiáltā	τοὺς ἐφῐάλτᾱς toùs ephiáltās
Vocative	ἐφῐάλτᾰ ephiálta	ἐφῐάλτᾱ ephiáltā	ἐφῐάλται ephiáltai
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