περισπάω

περι- (peri-) +‎ σπάω (spáō)

περῐσπᾰ́ω • (perĭspắō)

1. to draw off from around, strip off
   • 436 BCE – 338 BCE, Isocrates, Letters 9.10:

     τῶν δ’ ἄλλων ἃ περὶ τοῖς σώμασιν ἔχουσι περισπῶντες

     tôn d’ állōn hà perì toîs sṓmasin ékhousi perispôntes

     but from the others stripping off the clothing which they wear on their persons

   1. (middle voice) to strip oneself of
      • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Cyropaedia 3.1.13:

        περιεσπάσατο τὴν τιάραν καὶ τοὺς πέπλους κατερρήξατο

        periespásato tḕn tiáran kaì toùs péplous katerrhḗxato

        [he] stripped off his turban and rent his garments

   2. to strip bare
2. (of a general or army) to wheel about, esp. wheel twice
   • 200 BCE – 118 BCE, Polybius, The Histories 1.76.5.while he again wheeling to the right about what had originally been his rear-guard:

     τοὺς δ’ ἐπὶ τῆς οὐραγίας ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπάρχοντας ἐξ ἐπιστροφῆς περισπῶν

     toùs d’ epì tês ouragías ex arkhês hupárkhontas ex epistrophês perispôn

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. to draw off, draw away, divert
   • :

     ἐπειρᾶτο τιμαῖς καὶ δωρεαῖς ἀποκαλεῖν αὐτοῦ τὰ στρατεύματα καὶ περισπᾶν τὴν δύναμιν

     epeirâto timaîs kaì dōreaîs apokaleîn autoû tà strateúmata kaì perispân tḕn dúnamin

     and they endeavoured by honors and gifts to recall his troops and draw away his power

   1. to detach
      • 95 CE – 165 CE, Appian, Hannibalic War 56:

        τοῦ δὲ αὐτοῦ χρόνου […] περιέσπασεν ἀπὸ Ἀννίβου Κράσσος.

        toû dè autoû khrónou […] periéspasen apò Anníbou Krássos.

        During the same time Crassus detached […] from Hannibal.

   2. to disturb, vex
      • 342 BCE – 290 BCE, Menander, Men at Arbitration 504
      • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Septuagint, Ecclesiastes 5.19
   3. to divert, distract
      • 50 CE – 100 CE, The Gospel of Luke 10:40:

        ἡ δὲ Μάρθα περιεσπᾶτο περὶ πολλὴν διακονίαν

        hē dè Mártha periespâto perì pollḕn diakonían

        But Martha was distracted with much serving

   4. to steal
      • 170 CE – 250 CE, Philostratus, Gym. 45:

        καὶ ἀργυροῦν μὲν ἢ χρυσοῦν περισπῶντι ἀνάθημα ἢ διαφθείροντι

        kaì arguroûn mèn ḕ khrusoûn perispônti anáthēma ḕ diaphtheíronti

        and if one steals or destroys the gold or silver offering

   5. (passive voice, with infinitive) to be compelled
4. (grammar) to pronounce with the circumflex (esp. on the last syllable)
   • 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Theseus 26:

     οὐκ ὀρθῶς τὴν δευτέραν συλλαβὴν περισπῶντας

     ouk orthôs tḕn deutéran sullabḕn perispôntas

     incorrectly pronouncing a circumflex on the second syllable

• “περισπάω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “περισπάω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• περισπάω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• G4049 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible