λαμβάνω

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• λάζομαι (lázomai) — Homeric
• λαββάνω (labbánō)

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *hlagʷ-, probably from a Proto-Indo-European *(s)leh₂gʷ-, with cognates including Old English læċċan (English latch). This etymology is supported by the form ΛΗΑΒΩΝ (lhabōn, aorist participle) found in an inscription in Corfu indicating initial voiceless /l̥/, which would have developed from a Proto-Indo-European *sl- cluster. Also see λάζομαι (lázomai) and λάφυρον (láphuron).

The present stem λαμβάνω (lambánō) has zero-grade of the PIE root with nasal infix and suffix, like λανθάνω (lanthánō, “do secretly”) and τυγχάνω (tunkhánō, “happen”). The second aorist ἔλᾰβον (élabon) has zero-grade and no further modifications, like ἔλαθον (élathon) and ἔτυχον (étukhon). The forms with eta, such as future λήψομαι (lḗpsomai), have e-grade, like λήσω (lḗsō) and τεύξομαι (teúxomai). The e-grade perfect εἴληφα (eílēpha) derives from reduplication of the original stem in *sl- (*sesl- > *εἱλ- (*heil-) regularly followed by unexpected loss of aspiration), but the change from β (b) to φ (ph) is irregular.

Pronunciation

Verb

λᾰμβᾰ́νω • (lambánō)

1. to take
   1. to take hold of, grasp, seize
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 6.81:

        ἡ δ’ ἔλαβεν μάστιγα καὶ ἡνία σιγαλόεντα

        hē d’ élaben mástiga kaì hēnía sigalóenta

        and she took the whip and bright reins

      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 21.286:

        χειρὶ δὲ χεῖρα λαβόντες

        kheirì dè kheîra labóntes

        clasping his hand in theirs

      1. to take by force, plunder
         • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.273:

           εἰ τούτω κε λάβοιμεν, ἀροίμεθά κε κλέος ἐσθλόν.

           ei toútō ke láboimen, aroímethá ke kléos esthlón.

           Could we but take these twain, we should win us goodly renown.

      2. to exact (punishment)
         • 445 BCE – 380 BCE, Lysias, On the Murder of Eratosthenes 29:

           καὶ ταύτην ἔλαβον τὴν δίκην

           kaì taútēn élabon tḕn díkēn

           and I exacted that punishment

   2. (of emotions) to seize
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.387:

        Ἀτρεΐωνα δ’ ἔπειτα χόλος λάβεν

        Atreḯōna d’ épeita khólos láben

        thereafter anger seized the son of Atreus

      1. (of a god) to possess
         • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 4.79.4:

           ὅτι βακχεύομεν καὶ ἡμέας ὁ θεὸς λαμβάνει

           hóti bakkheúomen kaì hēméas ho theòs lambánei

           because we play the Bacchant and the god possesses us

      2. (of darkness, etc.) to cover
         • 472 BCE, Aeschylus, The Persians 365:

           κνέφας δὲ τέμενος αἰθέρος λάβῃ

           knéphas dè témenos aithéros lábēi

           and darkness had covered the region of the sky

   3. to catch, overtake
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 5.159:

        ἔνθ’ υἷας Πριάμοιο δύω λάβε

        énth’ huîas Priámoio dúō lábe

        Then took he two sons of Priam

   4. to catch, discover, detect
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.89.2:

        λαμφθῆναι γὰρ τινὰ φασὶ μισγόμενον νεκρῷ προσφάτῳ γυναικός

        lamphthênai gàr tinà phasì misgómenon nekrôi prosphátōi gunaikós

        For it is said that one was caught having intercourse with the fresh corpse of a woman

   5. to bind (under oath)
      • 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 276:

        ὥσπερ μ’ ἀραῖον ἔλαβες, ὧδ’, ἄναξ, ἐρῶ.

        hṓsper m’ araîon élabes, hôd’, ánax, erô.

        As you have bound me under oath, my king, I will speak.

   6. to keep
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 7.42.2:

        τὴν Ἴδην δὲ λαβὼν ἐς ἀριστερὴν χεῖρα

        tḕn Ídēn dè labṑn es aristerḕn kheîra

        keeping Ida on the left

   7. to take (food or drugs)
      • Diocl., Fr. 121:

        τὸν σικυόν φησι μετὰ σιτίων ἐν πρώτοις λαμβανόμενον ἐνοχλεῖν

        tòn sikuón phēsi metà sitíōn en prṓtois lambanómenon enokhleîn

        says that cucumber, if it is taken with the sium in the first course, makes the eater uncomfortable

   8. to perceive, understand
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.41.1:

        ταῦτα ἐπιλεξάμενος καὶ νόῳ λαβὼν ὥς οἱ εὖ ὑπετίθετο Ἄμασις

        taûta epilexámenos […] kaì nóōi labṑn hṓs hoi eû hupetítheto Ámasis

        reading this, and perceiving that Amasis' advice was good

      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 7.142.3:

        οἱ γὰρ χρησμολόγοι ταύτῃ ταῦτα ἐλάμβανον

        hoi gàr khrēsmológoi taútēi taûta elámbanon

        for the readers of oracles took the verses to mean

      1. (logic) to assume, take as granted
         • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Prior Analytics 46b.6
   9. to undertake
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.71.3:

        ἐπιχείρησιν ταύτην μὴ οὕτω συντάχυνε ἀβούλως, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τὸ σωφρονέστερον αὐτὴν λάμβανε

        […] epikheírēsin taútēn mḕ hoútō suntákhune aboúlōs, all’ epì tò sōphronésteron autḕn lámbane

        don not hurry this undertaking without thinking, but take it up more prudently

2. to receive, get
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.427:

     ἂψ ὅ γε τὴν ἀπέλυσε λαβὼν ἀπερείσι’ ἄποινα

     àps hó ge tḕn apéluse labṑn apereísi’ ápoina

     but thereafter set her free, when he had received ransom past counting

   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 23.275:

     ἦ τ’ ἂν ἐγὼ τὰ πρῶτα λαβὼν

     ê t’ àn egṑ tà prôta labṑn

     surely it were that I should win the first prize

   • 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King :

     τίς οὗτος ἔσται, τίς παραρρίψει, τέκνα, τοιαῦτ’ ὀνείδη λαμβάνων

     tís hoûtos éstai, tís pararrhípsei, tékna, toiaût’ oneídē lambánōn

     who shall be the man, my daughters, to risk suffering reproach

     1. I receive hospitably
        • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 7.255:

          ἥ με λαβοῦσα ἐνδυκέως ἐφίλει

          hḗ me laboûsa endukéōs ephílei

          She took me to her home with kindly welcome

     2. I receive in marriage
        • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 9.108.1:

          δοκέων αὐτὴν μᾶλλον λάμψεσθαι ἢν ταῦτα ποιήσῃ

          dokéōn autḕn mâllon lámpsesthai ḕn taûta poiḗsēi

          for he thought that by doing so he would be most likely to win her

     3. I conceive
        • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, Prorrhetics 2.24
   1. to admit
      • 522 BCE – 443 BCE, Pindar, Olympian Ode 1.81:

        ὁ μέγας δὲ κίνδυνος ἄναλκιν οὐ φῶτα λαμβάνει.

        ho mégas dè kíndunos ánalkin ou phôta lambánei.

        Great danger does not admit of a coward.

   2. (of emotions)
      • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 10.461:

        εἰς ὅ κεν αὖτις θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι λάβητε

        eis hó ken aûtis thumòn enì stḗthessi lábēte

        until you once again take heart

      • 406 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 729:

        ὁρῶ τιν’ ὑμᾶς ὀμμάτων εἰληφότας φόβον νεώρη τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπεισόδου

        horô tin’ humâs ommátōn eilēphótas phóbon neṓrē tês emês epeisódou

        I see from your eyes that you feel a sudden fear at my coming

3. (middle voice) to take hold of
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 5.325:

     ἀλλὰ μεθορμηθεὶς ἐνὶ κύμασιν ἐλλάβετ’ αὐτῆς

     allà methormētheìs enì kúmasin ellábet’ autês

     but sprang after amid the waves, and took hold of it

   1. to lay hands upon
   2. to find fault with, censure
      • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Laws 637c
      • 170 CE – 250 CE, Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 4.22
   3. to check oneself
      • 200 CE – 400 CE, Heliodorus of Emesa, Aethiopica 2.24

Inflection

Along with a few others (ἐλθέ (elthé), ἰδέ (idé), εὑρέ (heuré), εἰπέ (eipé)), the aorist imperative has an irregular accent: λαβέ (labé) and not **λάβε. This is not the case in compounds, however.

Derived terms

Related terms

• λαβίς (labís)
• λάφυρα (láphura)

Descendants

• → Greek: λαμβάνω (lamváno)
• Greek: λαβαίνω (lavaíno)

References

• “λαμβάνω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “λαμβάνω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “λαμβάνω”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• λαμβάνω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• λαμβάνω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “λαμβάνω”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2983 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• λαμβάνω in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
• 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

Greek

Alternative forms

• λαβαίνω (lavaíno) (colloquial, not common)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek λαμβάνω (lambánō). Doublet of λαβαίνω (lavaíno).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laɱˈva.no/
• Hyphenation: λαμ‧βά‧νω

Verb

λαμβάνω • (lamváno) (past έλαβα, passive λαμβάνομαι, p‑past λήφθηκα/ελήφθην, ppp ειλημμένος)

1. (formal) to get, receive

   Η τηλεόρασή μου δεν λαμβάνει σήμα πολύ καλά. ― I tileórasí mou den lamvánei síma polý kalá. ― My tv set does not receive a signal very well.

2. to take
3. (figuratively) to understand, get

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (get): παίρνω (paírno)

Related terms