βῆμα

See also: βήμα and Βήμα

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• βᾶμᾰ (bâmă) — Doric, Aeolic

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *gʷā́mə, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷéh₂mn̥, from *gʷeh₂- (“to step”) (whence ἔβην (ébēn)). Compare βωμός (bōmós, “altar”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /bɛ̂ː.ma/ → /ˈβi.ma/ → /ˈvi.ma/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /bɛ̂ː.ma/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈbe̝.ma/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈβi.ma/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈvi.ma/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈvi.ma/

Noun

βῆμᾰ • (bêmă) n (genitive βήμᾰτος); third declension (Attic, Ionic)

1. a step, pace, footfall, gait
2. raised place or tribune or podium or pulpit from which men spoke in a public assembly

Declension

Third declension of τὸ βῆμᾰ; τοῦ βήμᾰτος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ βῆμᾰ tò bêmă	τὼ βήμᾰτε tṑ bḗmăte	τᾰ̀ βήμᾰτᾰ tằ bḗmătă
Genitive	τοῦ βήμᾰτος toû bḗmătos	τοῖν βημᾰ́τοιν toîn bēmắtoin	τῶν βημᾰ́των tôn bēmắtōn
Dative	τῷ βήμᾰτῐ tōî bḗmătĭ	τοῖν βημᾰ́τοιν toîn bēmắtoin	τοῖς βήμᾰσῐ / βήμᾰσῐν toîs bḗmăsĭ(n)
Accusative	τὸ βῆμᾰ tò bêmă	τὼ βήμᾰτε tṑ bḗmăte	τᾰ̀ βήμᾰτᾰ tằ bḗmătă
Vocative	βῆμᾰ bêmă	βήμᾰτε bḗmăte	βήμᾰτᾰ bḗmătă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἐπὶ τὸ βῆμα ἀναβαίνω (epì tò bêma anabaínō, “to enter public life”, literally “to get up onto the tribune”)

Descendants

• Greek: βήμα (víma), Βήμα (Víma)
• → Classical Syriac: ܒܝܡܐ (bēmā)
• → Coptic: ⲃⲏⲙⲁ (bēma)
• → English: bema
• → Hebrew: בִּימָה (bima)
  • → Dutch: bima
  • → English: bima
  • → Yiddish: בימה (bime)
• → Old Armenian: բեմ (bem)
• → Old Georgian: ბემი (bemi)

Further reading

• “βῆμα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• βῆμα, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011