ἐλέφας
Ancient Greek
Alternative forms
- ἐλέφαις (eléphais) — Aeolic
Etymology
Unclear. Compare Hittite 𒆷𒄴𒉺𒀸 (laḫpaš, “ivory”).
Possibly related to Proto-Berber *eḷu, Egyptian ꜣbw
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(reconstructed as /ˈʀuːbaw/) or Sanskrit इभ (íbha).
Cognate with Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀩𐀞 (e-re-pa).
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /e.lé.pʰaːs/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /eˈle.pʰas/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /eˈle.ɸas/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /eˈle.fas/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /eˈle.fas/
Usage notes
- Two irregular forms are attested:
- A genitive singular ἐλεφάντου in an inscription found in Delos from the 2nd cent. BCE:
- Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 35.286:
- ἐλεφάντου λεπτοῦ τάλαντον δαψιλές
- elephántou leptoû tálanton dapsilés
- a full talent of finely worked ivory
- ἐλεφάντου λεπτοῦ τάλαντον δαψιλές
- A dative plural ἐλεφάντοις in the Septuagint, 1 Maccabees 1.17, as a variant reading for regular ἐλέφασι(ν).
- A genitive singular ἐλεφάντου in an inscription found in Delos from the 2nd cent. BCE:
Inflection
| Case / # | Singular | Plural | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ὁ, ἡ ἐλέφᾱς ho, hē eléphās |
οἱ, αἱ ἐλέφᾰντες hoi, hai eléphantes | |||||||||||
| Genitive | τοῦ, τῆς ἐλέφᾰντος / ἐλεφᾰ́ντου toû, tês eléphantos / elephántou |
τῶν ἐλεφᾰ́ντων tôn elephántōn | |||||||||||
| Dative | τῷ, τῇ ἐλέφᾰντῐ tôi, têi eléphanti |
τοῖς, ταῖς ἐλέφᾱσῐ / ἐλέφᾱσῐν / ἐλεφᾰ́ντοις toîs, taîs eléphāsi / eléphāsin / elephántois | |||||||||||
| Accusative | τὸν, τὴν ἐλέφᾰντᾰ tòn, tḕn eléphanta |
τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς ἐλέφᾰντᾰς toùs, tā̀s eléphantas | |||||||||||
| Vocative | ἐλέφᾰν eléphan |
ἐλέφᾰντες eléphantes | |||||||||||
| Notes: |
| ||||||||||||
Derived terms
- Ἐλεφαντίνη (Elephantínē)
- ἐλεφᾰντομᾰχῐ́ᾱ (elephantomakhíā)
- ἐλεφᾰντᾰ́ρχης (elephantárkhēs)
Descendants
- Greek: ελέφας (eléfas), ελέφαντας (eléfantas)
- → Old Church Slavonic: е҆лефа́нтъ (e҆lefántŭ), е҆лефа́нтесъ (e҆lefántesŭ)
- → Old Ruthenian: елефа́нтъ (elefánt)
- → Russian: элефа́нт (elefánt) (archaic)
- → Latin: elephās (see there for further descendants)
Further reading
- “ἐλέφας”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “ἐλέφας”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “ἐλέφας”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
- ἐλέφας in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- ἐλέφας in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
- ἐλέφας in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
- Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 265
- olifantus 1
- olifantus 2
- 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 409-10
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