πίθος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms
  • πίδος (pídos)

Etymology

Like many Greek words for pottery, most likely of Pre-Greek origin,[1] as evidenced by the irregular variations between:

  • ⟨δ⟩ and ⟨θ⟩, the former as in e.g. πίδος (pídos)
  • ⟨π⟩ and ⟨φ⟩, as in the derived terms πιθάκνη (pitháknē) ~ φιδάκνη (phidáknē) and πιθάκνιον (pitháknion) ~ φιδάκνιον (phidáknion)
  • ⟨ι⟩ and ⟨ε⟩, the latter as in Mycenaean Greek 𐀤𐀵 (qe-to).

Formerly compared to Old Norse biða (“milk jug/bucket”) and Latin fidēlia (“earthen vessel, pot”), assuming a Proto-Indo-European root *bʰidʰ-.[2] The apparent cognate in Mycenaean Greek, if related, however rules out an initial labial consonant in the source.

Pronunciation
 

Noun

πῐ́θος • (píthos) m (genitive πῐ́θου); second declension

  1. large wine jar, cask
    πίθοι ξύλινοι, κεράμινοι, ἀργύρεοι ― píthoi xúlinoi, keráminoi, argúreoi ― jars wooden, of clay, silver.
  2. (proverbs, expressions)
    1. of the task of the Danaids, of labour in vain
      • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Oeconomicus 7.40:
        τό εἰς τὸν τετρημένον πίθον ἀντλεῖν
        tó eis tòn tetrēménon píthon antleîn
        to the perforated jar bale water
    2. of a Cynic's life, like Diogenes
      ζωὴ πίθου ― zōḕ píthou ― a life of jar (in a jar)
    3. very witty, referring to Diogenes
      πίθος φρενών ― píthos phrenṓn ― a cask [full of] wit
    4. your purse is deep
      ἐκ πίθω ἀντλεῖς ― ek píthō antleîs ― you have wine by the caskful
      • 300 BCE – 200 BCE, Theocritus, Epigrams 10.13:
        ἐκ πίθω ἀντλεῖς.
        ek píthō antleîs.
        you have wine by the caskful.

Inflection
Second declension of ὁ πῐ́θος; τοῦ πῐ́θου (Attic)
Case / # Singular Dual Plural
Nominative ὁ πῐ́θος
ho píthos		 τὼ πῐ́θω
tṑ píthō		 οἱ πῐ́θοι
hoi píthoi
Genitive τοῦ πῐ́θου
toû píthou		 τοῖν πῐ́θοιν
toîn píthoin		 τῶν πῐ́θων
tôn píthōn
Dative τῷ πῐ́θῳ
tôi píthōi		 τοῖν πῐ́θοιν
toîn píthoin		 τοῖς πῐ́θοις
toîs píthois
Accusative τὸν πῐ́θον
tòn píthon		 τὼ πῐ́θω
tṑ píthō		 τοὺς πῐ́θους
toùs píthous
Vocative πῐ́θε
píthe		 πῐ́θω
píthō		 πῐ́θοι
píthoi
Notes:
  • This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Synonyms

Derived terms
  • πιθάκνη (pitháknē); πισάκνα (pisákna) (Doric)
  • πιθάριον (pithárion)
  • πιθίσκος (pithískos)
  • πιθώδης (pithṓdēs)

Descendants
  • Greek:
    Medieval Greek: πιθάριον n (pithárion) (diminutive)
    Modern Greek: πιθάρι n (pithári)
    Modern Greek: πίθος m (píthos)

References
  1. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “πίθος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1189–1190
  2. Pokorny, Julius (1959) “bhidh-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, pages 152-153

Further reading

Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πῐ́θος (píthos).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈpiθos/
  • Hyphenation: πί‧θος

Noun

πίθος • (píthos) m (plural πίθοι)

  1. (learned) large jar, cask
  2. (expression) (for monotonous, impossible tasks) the jar of the Daughters of Danaus
    o πίθος των Δαναΐδων ― o píthos ton Danaḯdon ― the jar of the Danaids/daughters of Danaus

Declension
declension of πίθος
case     \     number singular plural
nominative πίθος • πίθοι •
genitive πίθου • πίθων •
accusative πίθο • πίθους •
vocative πίθε • πίθοι •

Synonyms
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.