ἔλπος
Ancient Greek
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editUnknown. The word has been proposed to descend from Proto-Indo-European *selp- (“fat, oil”), with cognates such as Sanskrit सर्पिस् (sarpis) and Old English sealf (English salve). However, the lack of the expected rough breathing and the alternation between voiced and voiceless aspirate (seen in the dialectal form ἔλφος (élphos)) suggest that it might be from a Pre-Greek source. Some have argued that the word is related to ὄλπη (ólpē, “oil flask”), which may or may not affect the proposed Proto-Indo-European origin.
Pronunciation
edit- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /él.pos/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈel.pos/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈel.pos/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈel.pos/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈel.pos/
Noun
editἔλπος • (élpos)
- (hapax) Hesychius gives the definition as: ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”), στέαρ (stéar, “fat”), εὐθηνία (euthēnía, “abundance”)
References
edit- “ἔλπος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ἔλπος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- ἔλπος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
- 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, pages 415-416
- Hesychius' Lexicon: ε