λαῖφα
Ancient Greek
editEtymology
editGiven the presence of variants, like λαίβα (laíba) and λαῖτα (laîta), the word is probably Pre-Greek. Furnée compares λαῖφος (laîphos, “sail, old garment”), but he gives no further explanation; one may imagine that the sails were made of skin, like the shield.
Pronunciation
edit- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /lâi̯.pʰa/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈlɛ.pʰa/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈlɛ.ɸa/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈle.fa/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈle.fa/
Noun
editλαῖφα • (laîpha)
- Hesychius' gives the definition as: ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield”).
Further reading
edit- 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
- Hesychius' Lexicon: λ