σφῦρα

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Ancient Greek

Etymology

Julius Pokorny connects this word with σπαίρω (spaírō, to hammer, to make rapid movements). Frisk connects this word with σφαῖρα (sphaîra, ball), but this seems far-fetched, especially since the semantic connection is not evident. The etymology thus remains uncertain.

Pronunciation

 

Noun

σφῦρᾰ (sphûraf (genitive σφῡ́ρᾱς); first declension

  1. hammer, beetle, mallet
    Synonym: κέστρα (késtra)
  2. balk between the furrows of ploughed land
  3. kind of land measure

Inflection

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Greek: σφυρί (sfyrí)
  • Mariupol Greek: сфири́ (sfirí)

Further reading

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