σφέλας

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Furnée concludes from the possible connection with σφαλλός (sphallós, “round block of wood”) that the word is Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /spʰé.las/ → /ˈsɸe.las/ → /ˈsfe.las/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spʰé.las/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈspʰe.las/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsɸe.las/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsfe.las/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsfe.las/

Noun

σφέλᾰς • (sphélas) n (genitive σφέλᾰος); third declension

1. footstool

   Synonyms: θρῆνυς (thrênus), ὑποπόδιον (hupopódion)

2. pedestal of a statue
3. hollow block of wood, for putting anything into

Declension

Third declension of τὸ σφέλᾰς; τοῦ σφέλᾰος (contracted, Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ σφέλᾰς tò sphélas	τὼ σφέλᾰε tṑ sphélae	τᾰ̀ σφέλᾱ tà sphélā
Genitive	τοῦ σφέλᾰος toû sphélaos	τοῖν σφελᾰ́οιν toîn spheláoin	τῶν σφελᾰ́ων tôn spheláōn
Dative	τῷ σφέλᾰῐ̈ tôi sphélaï	τοῖν σφελᾰ́οιν toîn spheláoin	τοῖς σφέλᾰσῐ / σφέλᾰσῐν toîs sphélasi(n)
Accusative	τὸ σφέλᾰς tò sphélas	τὼ σφέλᾰε tṑ sphélae	τᾰ̀ σφέλᾱ tà sphélā
Vocative	σφέλᾰς sphélas	σφέλᾰε sphélae	σφέλᾱ sphélā
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἐπισφελίτης (episphelítēs)
• σφελίσκον (sphelískon)

 

Further reading

• “σφέλας”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “σφέλας”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “σφέλας”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• σφέλας in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• σφέλας 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