πυγμή

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *pewǵ- (“to punch”). Cognates include Latin pugnus, Lithuanian pušìs, and Old English fyst (English fist). Compare πύξ (púx) and πεύκη (peúkē).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pyŋ.mɛ̌ː/ → /pyɣˈmi/ → /piɣˈmi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pyŋ.mɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /pyɡˈme̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /pyɣˈmi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /pyɣˈmi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /piɣˈmi/

Noun

πυγμή • (pugmḗ) f (genitive πυγμῆς); first declension

1. fist
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, On Joints 833
   1. boxing
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 23.669
2. a measure of length, the distance from the elbow to the knuckles (= 18 δάκτυλοι (dáktuloi), about 34 centimetres or 13+¹⁄₂ inches)
   • ante 177 CE, Pollux, Onomasticon 2. 147, 158

Inflection

First declension of ἡ πυγμή; τῆς πυγμῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ πυγμή hē pugmḗ	τὼ πυγμᾱ́ tṑ pugmā́	αἱ πυγμαί hai pugmaí
Genitive	τῆς πυγμῆς tês pugmês	τοῖν πυγμαῖν toîn pugmaîn	τῶν πυγμῶν tôn pugmôn
Dative	τῇ πυγμῇ têi pugmêi	τοῖν πυγμαῖν toîn pugmaîn	ταῖς πυγμαῖς taîs pugmaîs
Accusative	τὴν πυγμήν tḕn pugmḗn	τὼ πυγμᾱ́ tṑ pugmā́	τᾱ̀ς πυγμᾱ́ς tā̀s pugmā́s
Vocative	πυγμή pugmḗ	πυγμᾱ́ pugmā́	πυγμαί pugmaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Related terms

• πυγών (pugṓn)
• πύξ (púx)

 

Further reading

• “πυγμή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “πυγμή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “πυγμή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• πυγμή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• πυγμή in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G4435 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • boxing idem, page 92.
  • fist idem, page 323.