πέλεκυς

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Compare Sanskrit परशु (paraśú, “axe”) and Ossetian фӕрӕт (færæt, “axe”). This word often considered a Wanderwort, with similarity to Akkadian 𒁄 (pilakku, pilaqqu, “wooden handle; spindle, harp”), itself from Sumerian 𒁄 (balag, “wooden handle; spindle, harp; possibly a split piece of wood or wooden wedge”); compare Arabic فَلَقَ (falaqa, “to split apart”) and πέλεκκον (pélekkon, “axe handle”). This has led some to suggest that the Proto-Indo-European terms are ultimately borrowed through the Akkadian or a Semitic source. Furnée points to βέλεκκος (bélekkos, “kind of pulse”), suggesting a origin.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pé.le.kys/ → /ˈpe.le.cys/ → /ˈpe.le.cis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pé.le.kys/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.kys/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.cys/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.cys/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.le.cis/

Noun

πέλεκῠς • (pélekus) m (genitive πελέκεως); third declension

1. two-edged axe for felling trees
2. battle axe, executioner's axe

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ πέλεκῠς; τοῦ πελέκεως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ πέλεκῠς ho pélekus	τὼ πελέκει tṑ pelékei	οἱ πελέκεις hoi pelékeis
Genitive	τοῦ πελέκεως toû pelékeōs	τοῖν πελεκέοιν toîn pelekéoin	τῶν πελέκεων tôn pelékeōn
Dative	τῷ πελέκει tôi pelékei	τοῖν πελεκέοιν toîn pelekéoin	τοῖς πελέκεσῐ / πελέκεσῐν toîs pelékesi(n)
Accusative	τὸν πέλεκῠν tòn pélekun	τὼ πελέκει tṑ pelékei	τοὺς πελέκεις toùs pelékeis
Vocative	πέλεκῠ péleku	πελέκει pelékei	πελέκεις pelékeis
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἑξαπέλεκυς (hexapélekus)
• πελεκάω (pelekáō)
• πελέκημα (pelékēma)
• πελέκησις (pelékēsis)
• πελεκητής (pelekētḗs)
• πελεκητός (pelekētós)
• πελεκητρίς (pelekētrís)
• πελεκήτωρ (pelekḗtōr)
• πελεκίζω (pelekízō)
• πελεκῖνος (pelekînos)
• πελέκιον (pelékion)
• πελεκισμός (pelekismós)
• πελεκοφόρος (pelekophóros)
• πελεκυνάριον (pelekunárion)
• πελεκῑνοειδής (pelekīnoeidḗs)
• σφυροπέλεκυς (sphuropélekus)

 

Descendants

• Greek: πέλεκυς (pélekys)

Further reading

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

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Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πέλεκυς (pélekus), cognate with Sanskrit परशु (paraśú, “axe”), which would reflect Proto-Indo-European *peleḱús if reconstructed back to PIE. Beekes suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Compare also German Beil (“axe”) as well as Hungarian and Turkish balta, both meaning "axe."

Noun

πέλεκυς • (pélekys) m (plural πελέκεις)

1. battle axe, double-headed axe

Declension

Declension of πέλεκυς

	singular	plural
nominative	πέλεκυς •	πελέκεις •
genitive	πελέκεως •	πελέκεων •
accusative	πέλεκει •	πελέκεις •
vocative	πέλεκυν •	πελέκεις •

Related terms

• πελέκι n (peléki, “axe”)
• τσεκούρι n (tsekoúri, “axe”)

Further reading

• Kaulins, Ancient Signs: The Alphabet and the Origins of Writing