ἄλοχος

Ancient Greek

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

ἁ- (ha-, alpha copulativum) +‎ λόχος (lókhos, “lying down”). The initial /h/ of the prefix is lost due to Grassmann's Law.

Noun

ᾰ̓́λοχος • (álokhos) f (genitive ᾰ̓λόχου); second declension

1. partner of one's bed, wife
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 5.209–210:

     … ῑ̔μειρόμενός περ ἰδέσθαι
     σὴν ἄλοχον, τῆς τ’ αἰὲν ἐέλδεαι ἤματα πάντα.

     … hīmeirómenós per idésthai
     sḕn álokhon, tês t’ aièn eéldeai ḗmata pánta.

     
     … even though you desire to see
     your wife, and you always long for her every day.

   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 1.114
   • 472 BCE, Aeschylus, The Persians 63
   • 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 181
   • 480 BCE – 406 BCE, Euripides, Fragments 543
   • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Politics 1.1253b.7
   • Theodect. 13
2. concubine
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 9.336
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.623

Declension

Derived terms

• ᾰ̓λοχίς (alokhís)

Etymology 2

ἀ- (a-, alpha privativum) +‎ λέχος (lékhos, “marriage bed”)

Noun

ᾰ̓́λοχος • (álokhos) f (genitive ᾰ̓λόχου); second declension

1. unwed woman
   • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 149b

Declension

Derived terms

• ᾰ̓λόχευτος (alókheutos)

References

• “ἄλοχος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἄλοχος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἄλοχος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἄλοχος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄλοχος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• ἄλοχος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• “ἄλοχος”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • bedfellow idem, page 69.
  • consort idem, page 164.
  • spouse idem, page 805.
  • wife idem, page 978.