πώλης

See also: -πώλης

Ancient Greek

Etymology

πωλέω (pōléō, “I sell or offer for sale”) +‎ -ης (-ēs, suffix forming masculine agent nouns)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pɔ̌ː.lɛːs/ → /ˈpo.lis/ → /ˈpo.lis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pɔ̌ː.lɛːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpo.le̝s/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpo.lis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpo.lis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpo.lis/

Noun

πώλης • (pṓlēs) m (genitive πώλου); first declension

1. a seller, a dealer, a monger
   • 424 BCE, Aristophanes, The Knights 131:

     εἷς οὑτοσὶ πώλης. τί τοὐντεῦθεν; λέγε.

     heîs houtosì pṓlēs. tí tounteûthen? lége.

   • 424 BCE, Aristophanes, The Knights 133:

     δύο τώδε πώλα. καὶ τί τόνδε χρὴ παθεῖν;

     dúo tṓde pṓla. kaì tí tónde khrḕ patheîn?

   • 424 BCE, Aristophanes, The Knights 139–140:

     οἴμοι δείλαιος.
     πόθεν οὖν ἂν ἔτι γένοιτο πώλης εἶς μόνος;

     oímoi deílaios.
     póthen oûn àn éti génoito pṓlēs eîs mónos?

Usage notes

• This agent noun occurs almost exclusively in compounds. It is only attested in independent existence in lines 131–140 of Aristophanes’ Knights, where it is used comically, as the last part of an intended compound.

Declension

First declension of ὁ πώλης; τοῦ πώλου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ πώλης ho pṓlēs	τὼ πώλᾱ tṑ pṓlā	οἱ πῶλαι hoi pôlai
Genitive	τοῦ πώλου toû pṓlou	τοῖν πώλαιν toîn pṓlain	τῶν πωλῶν tôn pōlôn
Dative	τῷ πώλῃ tôi pṓlēi	τοῖν πώλαιν toîn pṓlain	τοῖς πώλαις toîs pṓlais
Accusative	τὸν πώλην tòn pṓlēn	τὼ πώλᾱ tṑ pṓlā	τοὺς πώλᾱς toùs pṓlās
Vocative	πώλη pṓlē	πώλᾱ pṓlā	πῶλαι pôlai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

• (seller, dealer): πρᾱτήρ (prātḗr)

Derived terms

• βῐβλῐοπώλης (bibliopṓlēs)
• ἐλαιοπώλης (elaiopṓlēs)

Descendants

• Greek: -πώλης (-pólis)

References

• “πώλης”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “πώλης”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • monger idem, page 539.
  • seller idem, page 751.