μέσπιλον

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• μεσπίλη (mespílē)

Etymology

Loan-word from a origin because no Indo-European cognates are found, plant names are more frequently borrowed and, particularly concerning this term, the medlar is native to the regions of Iran, southwest Asia and southeastern Europe and its Black Sea coasts so that it was unknown to the speakers of Proto-Indo-European and borrowing became necessary. Possibly cognate to Proto-Kartvelian *sxmarṭl- (“medlar”) with metathesis of the initial consonants.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /més.pi.lon/ → /ˈmes.pi.lon/ → /ˈmes.pi.lon/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /més.pi.lon/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈmes.pi.lon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈmes.pi.lon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈmes.pi.lon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈmes.pi.lon/

Noun

μέσπιλον • (méspilon) n (genitive μεσπίλου); second declension

1. medlar (Mespilus germanica)

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ μέσπιλον; τοῦ μεσπίλου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ μέσπιλον tò méspilon	τὼ μεσπίλω tṑ mespílō	τᾰ̀ μέσπιλᾰ tà méspila
Genitive	τοῦ μεσπίλου toû mespílou	τοῖν μεσπίλοιν toîn mespíloin	τῶν μεσπίλων tôn mespílōn
Dative	τῷ μεσπίλῳ tôi mespílōi	τοῖν μεσπίλοιν toîn mespíloin	τοῖς μεσπίλοις toîs mespílois
Accusative	τὸ μέσπιλον tò méspilon	τὼ μεσπίλω tṑ mespílō	τᾰ̀ μέσπιλᾰ tà méspila
Vocative	μέσπιλον méspilon	μεσπίλω mespílō	μέσπιλᾰ méspila
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Byzantine Greek: μούσπουλον (moúspoulon)
  • Greek: μούσμουλο (moúsmoulo)
• Latin: mespilum (see there for further descendants)

References

• “μέσπιλον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• μέσπιλον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette