καταλύω

From κατα- (kata-, intensifying prefix) +‎ λῡ́ω (lū́ō, “loosen”).

κᾰτᾰλῡ́ω • (kătălū́ō)

1. to loosen, unbind
2. to unyoke, unharness
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 4.28:

     ἄλλ’ εἴπ’, ἤ σφωϊν καταλύσομεν ὠκέας ἵππους

     áll’ eíp’, ḗ sphōïn katalúsomen ōkéas híppous

     but, tell us, shall we unharness their fast horses?

3. to take down something hung or someone hanged
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates of Kos, Aphorisms :

     τῶν ἀπαγχομένων καὶ καταλυομένων, μηδέπω δὲ τεθνηκότων ...

     tôn apankhoménōn kaì kataluoménōn, mēdépō dè tethnēkótōn ...

     about those who were hanged and taken down but have not died

4. to destroy
   • 436 BCE – 338 BCE, Isocrates, On the Team of Horses 40.8–9:

     καὶ τὴν ὑμετέραν καταλῦσαι δύναμιν

     kaì tḕn humetéran katalûsai dúnamin

     to destroy your (city's) might

5. to abolish, do away with
   • 436 BCE – 338 BCE, Isocrates, Against Lochites 10.2–4:

     αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς δίς ἤδη τὴν δημοκρατίαν ἐπείδομεν καταλυθεῖσαν καὶ δίς τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἀπεστερήθημεν

     autoì gàr hēmeîs dís ḗdē tḕn dēmokratían epeídomen katalutheîsan kaì dís tês eleutherías apesterḗthēmen

     twice we ourselves have already seen our democracy abolished and twice we have lost our freedom

6. to deprive someone of their authority
   • 46 CE – 120 CE, Plutarch, Timoleon 39.5:

     τοὺς τυράννους καταλύσας, καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους καταπολεμήσας

     toùs turánnous katalúsas, kaì toùs barbárous katapolemḗsas

     having overthrown the tyrants and fought the barbarians

7. to put an end to

   καταλῦσαι τὸν βίον ― katalûsai tòn bíon ― to die (literally, “to put an end to life”)

8. to stay somewhere for one night, seek shelter
   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.136):

     (Θεμιστοκλῆς) ἀναγκάζεται κατά τι ἄπορον παρὰ Ἄδμητον τὸν Μολοσσῶν βασιλέα ὄντα αὐτῷ οὐ φίλον καταλῦσαι

     (Themistoklês) anankázetai katá ti áporon parà Ádmēton tòn Molossôn basiléa ónta autôi ou phílon katalûsai

     (Themistocles) being in a difficult position had to seek shelter from Admetos, the king of Molossi, though the latter was not a friend of his

• “καταλύω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “καταλύω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “καταλύω”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• καταλύω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• καταλύω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G2647 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• καταλύω 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

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek καταλύω (katalúō). Morphologically, from κατα- (“fully”) +‎ λύω (“unbind, loosen”).

• IPA^(key): /kataˈlio/
• Hyphenation: κα‧τα‧λύ‧ω

καταλύω • (katalýo) (past κατέλυσα, passive καταλύομαι)

1. to abolish, break down
2. to stay (usually for one night)
3. (chemistry) to catalyze
4. (religion) to break one's fast (resume normal diet after fasting)

• κατάλυμα n (katályma, “shelter”)
• κατάλυση f (katálysi, “catalysis; destruction; seek shelter”)
• καταλύτης m (katalýtis, “catalyst”)
• καταλυτής m (katalytís, “destroyer”)
• καταλυτικός (katalytikós, “catalytic, catalyze”)