Ancient Greek edit

Etymology edit

Julius Pokorny connects this word with σπαίρω (spaírō, to hammer, to make rapid movements). Frisk connects this word with σφαῖρα (sphaîra, ball), but this seems far-fetched, especially since the semantic connection is not evident. The etymology thus remains uncertain.

Pronunciation edit

 

Noun edit

σφῦρᾰ (sphûraf (genitive σφῡ́ρᾱς); first declension

  1. hammer, beetle, mallet
    Synonym: κέστρα (késtra)
  2. balk between the furrows of ploughed land
  3. kind of land measure

Inflection edit

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

  • Greek: σφυρί (sfyrí)

Further reading edit

  • σφῦρα”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • σφῦρα”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • σφῦρα”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
  • σφῦρα in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
  • σφῦρα in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
  • 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