ψάλιον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

A technical word without convincing etymology; a connection with ψάλλω (psállō, “to pluck”) remains hypothetical. Maybe from and related to ψέλιον (psélion, “ring worn by the Persians”) and ψαλόν (psalón, “kind of bridle”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /psá.li.on/ → /ˈpsa.li.on/ → /ˈpsa.li.on/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /psá.li.on/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.li.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.li.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.li.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.li.on/

Noun

ψάλῐον • (psálion) n (genitive ψᾰλίου); second declension

1. curb chain
2. (in the plural) chain, bond

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ψάλῐον; τοῦ ψαλῐ́ου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ψάλῐον tò psálion	τὼ ψαλῐ́ω tṑ psalíō	τᾰ̀ ψάλῐᾰ tà psália
Genitive	τοῦ ψαλῐ́ου toû psalíou	τοῖν ψαλῐ́οιν toîn psalíoin	τῶν ψαλῐ́ων tôn psalíōn
Dative	τῷ ψαλῐ́ῳ tôi psalíōi	τοῖν ψαλῐ́οιν toîn psalíoin	τοῖς ψαλῐ́οις toîs psalíois
Accusative	τὸ ψάλῐον tò psálion	τὼ ψαλῐ́ω tṑ psalíō	τᾰ̀ ψάλῐᾰ tà psália
Vocative	ψάλῐον psálion	ψαλῐ́ω psalíō	ψάλῐᾰ psália
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: ψάλιο (psálio)

Further reading

• “ψάλιον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ψάλιον 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