βάλανος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *gʷə́lanos, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelh₂- (“acorn”); see there for cognates. Probably unrelated to Ancient Greek βᾰλᾰνεῖον (bălăneîon, “bath, bathroom”). Per Schwyzer and Curtius, mentioned by Vasmer, akin to βάλλω (bállō).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /bá.la.nos/ → /ˈβa.la.nos/ → /ˈva.la.nos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bá.la.nos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈba.la.nos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈβa.la.nos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈva.la.nos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈva.la.nos/

Noun

βᾰ́λᾰνος • (bắlănos) f (genitive βᾰλᾰ́νου); second declension

1. acorn
2. the tree that bears acorns, the oak
3. (by resemblance)
   1. barnacle
   2. glans penis
   3. iron peg, bolt-pin, bolt of a door

      Synonym: μᾰ́νδᾰλος (mắndălos)

   4. (medicine) suppository, pledget, pessary

Declension

Second declension of ἡ βᾰ́λᾰνος; τῆς βᾰλᾰ́νου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ βᾰ́λᾰνος hē bắlănos	τὼ βᾰλᾰ́νω tṑ bălắnō	αἱ βᾰ́λᾰνοι hai bắlănoi
Genitive	τῆς βᾰλᾰ́νου tês bălắnou	τοῖν βᾰλᾰ́νοιν toîn bălắnoin	τῶν βᾰλᾰ́νων tôn bălắnōn
Dative	τῇ βᾰλᾰ́νῳ tēî bălắnōi	τοῖν βᾰλᾰ́νοιν toîn bălắnoin	ταῖς βᾰλᾰ́νοις taîs bălắnois
Accusative	τὴν βᾰ́λᾰνον tḕn bắlănon	τὼ βᾰλᾰ́νω tṑ bălắnō	τᾱ̀ς βᾰλᾰ́νους tā̀s bălắnous
Vocative	βᾰ́λᾰνε bắlăne	βᾰλᾰ́νω bălắnō	βᾰ́λᾰνοι bắlănoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

• (oak tree): Ᾰ̔μᾱδρῠᾰ́ς (Hămādrŭắs)

Derived terms

• ἀγρῐοβᾰ́λᾰνος (agrĭobắlănos)
• βαλανάγρα (balanágra)
• βαλανηφάγος (balanēphágos)
• βαλάνινος (baláninos)
• χαμαιβάλανος (khamaibálanos)

Descendants

• Greek: βάλανος (válanos), βαλανίδι (valanídi), βελανίδι (velanídi)
• → Latin: balanus, balana, balania (late)
  • Catalan: bàlan
  • French: balane
  • Italian: balano
  • Portuguese: bálano
  • Spanish: bálano
  • → English: balanus
  • → French: balanus (learned)
  • → Translingual: Balanus

Further reading

• “βάλανος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “βάλανος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “βάλανος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• βάλανος in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βάλανος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• βάλανος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • acorn idem, page 8.
  • bolt idem, page 88.
  • catch idem, page 118.
  • clasp idem, page 135.
  • date idem, page 196.
  • fastening idem, page 308.
  • pin idem, page 613.
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “желудь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek βάλανος (bálanos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvalanos/
• Hyphenation: βά‧λα‧νος

Noun

βάλανος • (válanos) f (plural βάλανοι)

1. (medicine) glans penis (conical forming the head of the penis)

   Πήγα στο γιατρό επειδή έκαιγε η βάλανός μου. ― Píga sto giatró epeidí ékaige i válanós mou. ― I went to the doctor because my glans was burning.

Declension

Declension of βάλανος

	singular	plural
nominative	βάλανος (válanos)	βάλανοι (válanoi)
genitive	βαλάνου (valánou)	βαλάνων (valánon)
accusative	βάλανο (válano)	βαλάνους (valánous)
vocative	βάλανε (válane) βάλανο (válano)	βάλανοι (válanoi)

Related terms

• βελανίδι (velanídi)

See also

• πέος n (péos, “penis”)
• ακροποσθία f (akroposthía, “foreskin”)
• ακροβυστία f (akrovystía, “foreskin”)

Further reading

• βάλανος, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language