σπέος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• σπεῖος (speîos)

Etymology

According to Beekes, the word is undoubtedly from Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /spé.os/ → /ˈspe.os/ → /ˈspe.os/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spé.os/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈspe.os/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈspe.os/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈspe.os/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈspe.os/

Noun

σπέος • (spéos) n (genitive σπείους); third declension

1. (Epic) cave, cavern, grotto
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 1.13–15:

     τὸν δ’ οἶον, νόστου κεχρημένον ἠδὲ γυναικός,
     νύμφη πότνι’ ἔρῡκε Καλυψώ, δῖα θεᾱ́ων,
     ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι, λιλαιομένη πόσιν εἶναι.

     tòn d’ oîon, nóstou kekhrēménon ēdè gunaikós,
     númphē pótni’ érūke Kalupsṓ, dîa theā́ōn,
     en spéssi glaphuroîsi, lilaioménē pósin eînai.

     [Odysseus] alone, longing for homecoming and his wife,
     the revered nymph Calypso, brightest of goddesses, detained
     in hollow caves, longing for him to be her husband.

Inflection

Irregular declension of σπέος; σπείους (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Plural
Nominative	σπέος / σπεῖος spéos / speîos	—
Genitive	σπείους speíous	σπείων speíōn
Dative	σπῆῐ̈ spêï	σπέσσῐ / σπήεσσῐ spéssi / spḗessi
Accusative	σπέος / σπεῖος spéos / speîos	—
Vocative	σπέος / σπεῖος spéos / speîos	—
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• σπήλαιον (spḗlaion)
• σπῆλυγξ (spêlunx)

 

References

• “σπέος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σπέος 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, page 1381