λίθος
Ancient Greek
Etymology
Uncertain.[1] Has been compared to λεῖος (leîos, “smooth”), λιτός (litós, “simple, plain”), Latin laedō (“to strike, hurt”), Lithuanian slidùs (“slippery, slick”), Proto-Balto-Slavic *ledús (“ice”).
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /lí.tʰos/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈli.tʰos/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈli.θos/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈli.θos/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈli.θos/
Noun
λῐ́θος • (lĭ́thos) m (genitive λῐ́θου); second declension
- a stone
- Synonym: πέτρος (pétros)
- stone as a substance
- Synonym: πέτρα (pétra)
- stone, pebble (used as as piece in a board-game)
- large rock or stone block, used as a seat to a speaker's platform, especially in the Assembly or in the Athenian agora, where archons, arbitrators and certain witnesses swore oaths
Usage notes
Λίθος is sometimes used as a feminine noun. This often (but not always) is used to refer to some special stone, such as a gem or magnet.
Declension
| Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ὁ, ἡ λῐ́θος ho, hē lĭ́thos |
τὼ λῐ́θω tṑ lĭ́thō |
οἱ, αἱ λῐ́θοι hoi, hai lĭ́thoi | ||||||||||
| Genitive | τοῦ, τῆς λῐ́θου toû, tês lĭ́thou |
τοῖν λῐ́θοιν toîn lĭ́thoin |
τῶν λῐ́θων tôn lĭ́thōn | ||||||||||
| Dative | τῷ, τῇ λῐ́θῳ tōî, tēî lĭ́thōi |
τοῖν λῐ́θοιν toîn lĭ́thoin |
τοῖς, ταῖς λῐ́θοις toîs, taîs lĭ́thois | ||||||||||
| Accusative | τὸν, τὴν λῐ́θον tòn, tḕn lĭ́thon |
τὼ λῐ́θω tṑ lĭ́thō |
τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς λῐ́θους toùs, tā̀s lĭ́thous | ||||||||||
| Vocative | λῐ́θε lĭ́the |
λῐ́θω lĭ́thō |
λῐ́θοι lĭ́thoi | ||||||||||
| Notes: |
| ||||||||||||
| Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | λῐ́θος lĭ́thos |
λῐ́θω lĭ́thō |
λῐ́θοι lĭ́thoi | ||||||||||
| Genitive | λῐ́θου / λῐθοῖο / λῐ́θοιο / λῐθόο / λῐ́θοο lĭ́thou / lĭthoîo / lĭ́thoio / lĭthóo / lĭ́thoo |
λῐ́θοιν / λῐ́θοιῐν lĭ́thoi(ĭ)n |
λῐ́θων lĭ́thōn | ||||||||||
| Dative | λῐ́θῳ lĭ́thōi |
λῐ́θοιν / λῐ́θοιῐν lĭ́thoi(ĭ)n |
λῐ́θοισῐ / λῐ́θοισῐν / λῐ́θοις lĭ́thoisĭ(n) / lĭ́thois | ||||||||||
| Accusative | λῐ́θον lĭ́thon |
λῐ́θω lĭ́thō |
λῐ́θους lĭ́thous | ||||||||||
| Vocative | λῐ́θε lĭ́the |
λῐ́θω lĭ́thō |
λῐ́θοι lĭ́thoi | ||||||||||
| Notes: |
| ||||||||||||
Derived terms
- λιθάργυρος (lithárguros)
- λιθουργός (lithourgós)
- μονόλιθος (monólithos)
- λίθινος (líthinos)
- λιθωτός (lithōtós)
Descendants
- ⇒ taxonomic name: Lithops
- → Catalan: liti (learned)
- → English: -lite, -lith, lith-, litho-
- → Georgian: ლითონი (litoni)
- ⇒ New Latin: lithium (see there for further descendants)
- → English: lithium
References
- ^ 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
Further reading
- “λίθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “λίθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “λίθος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
- λίθος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
- λίθος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
- “λίθος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
- G3037 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- λίθος, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011
Greek
Etymology
Learnedly, from Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos), masculine (also feminine).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈli.θos/
- Hyphenation: λί‧θος
Noun
λίθος • (líthos) m or f (plural λίθοι)
- masculine form:
- stone (building material)
- ο θεμέλιος λίθος ― o themélios líthos ― the foundation stone
- (medicine, formal) stone, calculus
- (archaeology) Εποχή του Λίθου (“Stone Age”)
- stone (building material)
- feminine form (in phrases): special "stones":
- λυδία λίθος (“touch stone”)
- φιλοσοφική λίθος (“philosopher's stone”)
Declension
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | λίθος (líthos) | λίθοι (líthoi) |
| genitive | λίθου (líthou) | λίθων (líthon) |
| accusative | λίθο (lítho) | λίθους (líthous) |
| vocative | λίθε (líthe) | λίθοι (líthoi) |
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
Related terms
Expressions
- ακρογωνιαίος λίθος m (akrogoniaíos líthos, “cornerstone”)
- ημιπολύτιμος λίθος m (imipolýtimos líthos)
- θεμέλιος λίθος m (themélios líthos)
- κινώ πάντα λίθον (kinó pánta líthon)
- λίθοι, πλίνθοι και κέραμοι ατάκτως ερριμένα (líthoi, plínthoi kai kéramoi atáktos erriména)
ancient: λίθοι καὶ πλίνθοι καὶ ξύλα καὶ κέραμος ἀτάκτως ἐρριμμένα (líthoi kaì plínthoi kaì xúla kaì kéramos atáktōs errhimména) - πολύτιμος λίθος m (polýtimos líthos)
Derivatives and compounds
- απολίθωμα n (apolíthoma, “fossil”)
- ασβεστόλιθος m (asvestólithos, “limestone”)
- λιθίαση f (lithíasi)
- λιθικός (lithikós)
- λίθινος f (líthinos)
- λιθογραφία f (lithografía, “lithograph, lithography”)
- λιθόκτιστος (lithóktistos)
- λιθοξόος m (lithoxóos)
- λιθόστρωτο n (lithóstroto, “cobblestone”)
- λιθόσφαιρα f (lithósfaira, “lithosphere”)
- λιθοτριψία f (lithotripsía)
- λιθώδης f (lithódis)
- μονόλιθος m (monólithos)
- σφραγιδόλιθος m (sfragidólithos)
- σχιστόλιθος m (schistólithos)
Further reading
- λίθος on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia el
- λίθος, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language