σπεῖρα

See also: σπείρα

Ancient Greek

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /spêː.ra/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈspi.ra/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈspi.ra/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈspi.ra/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈspi.ra/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *sper-yeh₂-, from *sper- (“to twist”), and thus cognate with σπάργανον (spárganon, “swaddling clothes”), σπάρτον (spárton, “rope, cable”), and σπεῖρον (speîron, “shroud”).^[1] Outside of Hellenic, cognate with Old Armenian փարել (pʻarel, “to enclose, embrace”) (whence Armenian փարվել (pʻarvel, “id”)),^[2] as well as perhaps Albanian fier (“fern”) (which directly corresponds in formation with σπεῖρον (speîron)).^[3]

Noun

σπεῖρα • (speîra) f (genitive σπείρᾱς); first declension

anything twisted or wound
1. (in the plural) coils or spires of snakes
2. rope, cord
3. knot or curl in wood
4. (architecture) torus of a column

Declension

First declension of ἡ σπεῖρᾰ; τῆς σπείρᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σπεῖρᾰ hē speîră	τὼ σπείρᾱ tṑ speírā	αἱ σπεῖραι hai speîrai
Genitive	τῆς σπείρᾱς tês speírās	τοῖν σπείραιν toîn speírain	τῶν σπειρῶν tôn speirôn
Dative	τῇ σπείρᾳ tēî speírāi	τοῖν σπείραιν toîn speírain	ταῖς σπείραις taîs speírais
Accusative	τὴν σπεῖρᾰν tḕn speîrăn	τὼ σπείρᾱ tṑ speírā	τᾱ̀ς σπείρᾱς tā̀s speírās
Vocative	σπεῖρᾰ speîră	σπείρᾱ speírā	σπεῖραι speîrai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

First declension of ἡ σπεῖρᾰ; τῆς σπείρης (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σπεῖρᾰ hē speîră	τὼ σπείρᾱ tṑ speírā	αἱ σπεῖραι hai speîrai
Genitive	τῆς σπείρης tês speírēs	τοῖν σπείραιν toîn speírain	τῶν σπειρέων / σπειρῶν tôn speiréōn / speirôn
Dative	τῇ σπείρῃ tēî speírēi	τοῖν σπείραιν toîn speírain	τῇσῐ / τῇσῐν σπείρῃσῐ / σπείρῃσῐν tēîsĭ(n) speírēisĭ(n)
Accusative	τὴν σπεῖρᾰν tḕn speîrăn	τὼ σπείρᾱ tṑ speírā	τᾱ̀ς σπείρᾱς tā̀s speírās
Vocative	σπεῖρᾰ speîră	σπείρᾱ speírā	σπεῖραι speîrai
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

σπειραία (speiraía)
σπειράομαι (speiráomai)
σπειρηδόν (speirēdón)
σπειρικός (speirikós)
σπειρίον (speiríon)
σπειρίτης (speirítēs)

Descendants

Greek: σπείρα (speíra)
→ Latin: spīra

References

^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σπεῖρα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1379
^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σπάρτον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1377: “Despite Beekes claiming that "(Armenian) p' cannot come from PIE *sp-", said phonetic shift appears to be a legal and expected outcome.”
^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σπεῖρον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1379

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

σπεῖρα • (speîra)

nominative/accusative/vocative plural of σπεῖρον (speîron)

[1] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σπεῖρα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1379

[2] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σπάρτον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1377: “Despite Beekes claiming that "(Armenian) p' cannot come from PIE *sp-", said phonetic shift appears to be a legal and expected outcome.”

[3] Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σπεῖρον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1379

[1]

[2]

[3]

Ancient Greek

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Further reading

Etymology 2

Noun