στέφω

From Proto-Hellenic *stékʷʰō, from Proto-Indo-European *stégʷʰ-e-ti, from *stegʷʰ- (“to enlace”).^[1]

στέφω • (stéphō)

1. to put around
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 18.205:

     ἀμφὶ δέ οἱ κεφαλῇ νέφος ἔστεφε δῖα θεάων χρύσεον

     amphì dé hoi kephalêi néphos éstephe dîa theáōn khrúseon

     and around his head the fair goddess set thick a golden cloud

   • 467 BCE, Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes 50:

     μνημεῖά... πρὸς ἅρμ᾽ Ἀδράστου χερσὶν ἔστεφον

     they hung remembrances of themselves around Andrastus' chariot

2. to encircle, crown, wreath, garland
   • 750 BCE – 650 BCE, Hesiod, Works and Days 75:

     Ὧραι καλλίκομοι στέφον ἄνθεσιν εἰαρινοῖσιν

     Hôrai kallíkomoi stéphon ánthesin eiarinoîsin

     the rich-haired Hours crowned with spring flowers

   • 405 BCE, Euripides, The Bacchae 313:

     τὸν θεὸν δ’ ἐς γῆν δέχου καὶ σπένδε καὶ βάκχευε καὶ στέφου κάρα.

     tòn theòn d’ es gên dékhou kaì spénde kaì bákkheue kaì stéphou kára.

     Receive the god into your land, pour libations to him, celebrate the Bacchic rites, and garland your head.

   1. to honour with libations
      • 442 BCE, Sophocles, Antigone 431:

        χοαῖσι τρισπόνδοισι τὸν νέκυν στέφει

        khoaîsi trispóndoisi tòn nékun stéphei

        she honoured the dead with thrice-poured libations

• στέπτω (stéptō)

• “στέφω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• στέφω in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• στέφω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963

From Ancient Greek στέφω (stéphō), from Proto-Hellenic *stékʷʰō, from Proto-Indo-European *stegʷʰ-. For 'crowning a monarch' semantic loan from French couronner.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈste.fo/
• Hyphenation: στέ‧φω

στέφω • (stéfo) active (past έστεψα, passive στέφομαι)

1. to crown (a monarch, a beauty pageant or competition winner)
2. (learned) Synonym of στεφανώνω (stefanóno)
   1. (in marriage ceremony) to place crown on the heads of the bride and bridegroom
   2. (figuratively, of an activity) to successfully conclude

      Η προσπάθειά μου στέφθηκε με επιτυχία.

      I prospátheiá mou stéfthike me epitychía.

      My effort was crowned with success.

• εστεμμένος (estemménos, participle & noun) (learned)
• στέμμα n (stémma, “crown”)
• -στεφής (-stefís, “wearing wearth”)
• -στέφανος (-stéfanos, “wearing wearth”)
• -στεφάνωτος (-stefánotos, “wearing wearth”)
• στεφάνη f (stefáni, “object encircling something”)
• στεφανηφόρος (stefanifóros, “wearing a wreath”) (learned, literature)
• στεφάνι n (stefáni, “wreath, garland”)
• στεφανιαίος (stefaniaíos, “coronary”) (anatomy)
• στεφανιαία f (stefaniaía, “coronary”) (medicine, cardiology)
• στέφανο n (stéfano, “marriage's garland”), (chiefly in the plural) στέφανα (stéfana)
• στεφανοθήκη f (stefanothíki, “case for marriage's crowns”)
• στέφανος m (stéfanos, “wreath, garland”) (learned)
• Στέφανος m (Stéfanos, “Stephen”) Στεφανία f (Stefanía)
• στεφανοχάρτι n (stefanochárti, “marriage licence”) (familiar)
• στεφάνωμα n (stefánoma, “placing wreath”)
• στεφανώνω (stefanóno, “place wreath”) & compounds
• στεφανωμένος (stefanoménos, “wearing a wreath; married”, participle) & compounds
• στεφάνωση f (stefánosi, “placing wreath”) (rare)
• στεφανωτός (stefanotós, “married”) (vernacular)
• στέψη f (stépsi, “crowning”)
• φωτοστέφανο n (fotostéfano, “halo”)