σπιθαμή

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The formation is similar to παλάμη (palámē, “palm of the hand”), δόχμη (dókhmē, “breadth of the hand”) and πυγμή (pugmḗ, “distance between the elbow and the knuckles”). According to Beekes, it's probably from Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /spi.tʰa.mɛ̌ː/ → /spi.θaˈmi/ → /spi.θaˈmi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spi.tʰa.mɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /spi.tʰaˈme̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /spi.θaˈmi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /spi.θaˈmi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /spi.θaˈmi/

Noun

σπῐθᾰμή • (spithamḗ) f (genitive σπῐθᾰμῆς); first declension

1. span, also as a fixed measure

Inflection

First declension of ἡ σπῐθᾰμή; τῆς σπῐθᾰμῆς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σπῐθᾰμή hē spithamḗ	τὼ σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ tṑ spithamā́	αἱ σπῐθᾰμαί hai spithamaí
Genitive	τῆς σπῐθᾰμῆς tês spithamês	τοῖν σπῐθᾰμαῖν toîn spithamaîn	τῶν σπῐθᾰμῶν tôn spithamôn
Dative	τῇ σπῐθᾰμῇ têi spithamêi	τοῖν σπῐθᾰμαῖν toîn spithamaîn	ταῖς σπῐθᾰμαῖς taîs spithamaîs
Accusative	τὴν σπῐθᾰμήν tḕn spithamḗn	τὼ σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ tṑ spithamā́	τᾱ̀ς σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ς tā̀s spithamā́s
Vocative	σπῐθᾰμή spithamḗ	σπῐθᾰμᾱ́ spithamā́	σπῐθᾰμαί spithamaí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• σπιθαμιαῖος (spithamiaîos)
• τρισπίθαμος (trispíthamos)

 

Further reading

• “σπιθαμή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σπιθαμή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• 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