ἀσπάλαθος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Solmsen connected σπαλύσσεται (spalússetai, “to rip, agitate”) and σφαλάσσειν (sphalássein, “to cut, sting”), but this is semantically unconvincing. It is rather a Pre-Greek word in view of the suffix, typical of plant names. The word has also been compared with παλίουρος (palíouros, “Christ's thorn”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /as.pá.la.tʰos/ → /asˈpa.la.θos/ → /asˈpa.la.θos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /as.pá.la.tʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /asˈpa.la.tʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /asˈpa.la.θos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /asˈpa.la.θos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /asˈpa.la.θos/

Noun

ἀσπᾰ́λᾰθος • (aspálathos) m or f (genitive ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θου); second declension

1. name of several types of thornbush
   1. camelthorn (Alhagi maurorum)

      Synonym: ἐρῠσῐ́σκηπτρον (erusískēptron)

   2. spiny broom (Calicotome villosa)
   3. Genista acanthoclada

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ, ἡ ἀσπᾰ́λᾰθος; τοῦ, τῆς ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ, ἡ ἀσπᾰ́λᾰθος ho, hē aspálathos	τὼ ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θω tṑ aspaláthō	οἱ, αἱ ἀσπᾰ́λᾰθοι hoi, hai aspálathoi
Genitive	τοῦ, τῆς ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θου toû, tês aspaláthou	τοῖν ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θοιν toîn aspaláthoin	τῶν ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θων tôn aspaláthōn
Dative	τῷ, τῇ ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θῳ tôi, têi aspaláthōi	τοῖν ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θοιν toîn aspaláthoin	τοῖς, ταῖς ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θοις toîs, taîs aspaláthois
Accusative	τὸν, τὴν ἀσπᾰ́λᾰθον tòn, tḕn aspálathon	τὼ ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θω tṑ aspaláthō	τοὺς, τᾱ̀ς ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θους toùs, tā̀s aspaláthous
Vocative	ἀσπᾰ́λᾰθε aspálathe	ἀσπᾰλᾰ́θω aspaláthō	ἀσπᾰ́λᾰθοι aspálathoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• > Greek: ασπάλαθος (aspálathos) (inherited)
• → Latin: aspalathus
• → Translingual: Aspalathus

Further reading

• “ἀσπάλαθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ἀσπάλαθος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἀσπάλαθος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• 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