σπάθη

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *spátʰā, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *sph₂-dʰh₁-éh₂, from *(s)peh₂- (“to draw”) (compare σπάω (spáō)) + *dʰeh₁- (“to do; put”) + feminine ending *-eh₂. Cognate with Proto-Germanic *spadô, Hittite 𒅖𒉺𒀀𒋻 (išpatar, “spear”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /spá.tʰɛː/ → /ˈspa.θi/ → /ˈspa.θi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spá.tʰɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.tʰe̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.θi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.θi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈspa.θi/

Noun

σπᾰ́θη • (spắthē) f (genitive σπᾰ́θης); first declension

1. any broad blade, of wood or metal
   1. a flat wooden blade used by ancient weavers in their upright loom for striking the woof home
   2. a spaddle or spattle used for stirring, especially for medical purposes
   3. an oar blade

      Synonym: πλᾰ́τη (plắtē)

   4. the broad ribs
   5. the shoulder blade
   6. the broad blade of a sword
   7. a scraper for currying horses
   8. the stem of a palm-frond
   9. the spathe of the flower of many plants, especially palms

Inflection

First declension of ἡ σπᾰ́θη; τῆς σπᾰ́θης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σπᾰ́θη hē spắthē	τὼ σπᾰ́θᾱ tṑ spắthā	αἱ σπᾰ́θαι hai spắthai
Genitive	τῆς σπᾰ́θης tês spắthēs	τοῖν σπᾰ́θαιν toîn spắthain	τῶν σπᾰθῶν tôn spăthôn
Dative	τῇ σπᾰ́θῃ tēî spắthēi	τοῖν σπᾰ́θαιν toîn spắthain	ταῖς σπᾰ́θαις taîs spắthais
Accusative	τὴν σπᾰ́θην tḕn spắthēn	τὼ σπᾰ́θᾱ tṑ spắthā	τᾱ̀ς σπᾰ́θᾱς tā̀s spắthās
Vocative	σπᾰ́θη spắthē	σπᾰ́θᾱ spắthā	σπᾰ́θαι spắthai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• σπαθαρία (spatharía)
• σπαθαρικόν (spatharikón)
• σπαθάριος (spathários)
• σπαθαρίσκος (spatharískos)
• σπαθάω (spatháō)
• σπάθημα (spáthēma)
• σπάθησις (spáthēsis)
• σπαθητός (spathētós)
• σπαθηφόρος (spathēphóros)
• σπαθίας (spathías)
• σπαθίζω (spathízō)
• σπαθίνης (spathínēs)
• σπαθίον (spathíon)
• σπαθίουρος (spathíouros)
• σπαθίς (spathís)
• σπάθισμα (spáthisma)
• σπαθίτης (spathítēs)

Descendants

• Greek: σπαθί (spathí)
  • → Bulgarian: спатия (spatija)
• Mariupol Greek: спатъы́ (spaθý)
• → Latin: spatha (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

• “σπάθη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “σπάθη”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• σπάθη in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • blade idem, page 81.
  • comb idem, page 144.
  • shuttle idem, page 772.
• σπάθη, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011