λίθος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Unknown. Has been compared to λεῖος (leîos, “smooth”), λῑτός (lītós, “simple; plain”), Latin laedō (“to strike; to hurt”), Lithuanian slidùs (“slippery; slick”), (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?) Proto-Balto-Slavic *ledús (“ice”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /lí.tʰos/ → /ˈli.θos/ → /ˈli.θos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /lí.tʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈli.tʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈli.θos/
• (10^th CE Medieval) IPA^(key): /ˈli.θos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈli.θos/

Noun

λῐ́θος • (lĭ́thos) m or f (genitive λῐ́θου); second declension

1. a stone

   Synonym: πέτρος (pétros)

2. stone as a substance

   Synonym: πέτρα (pétra)

3. stone; pebble (used as a piece in a board-game)
4. large rock or stone block, used as a seat to a speaker's platform, especially in the Assembly or in the Athenian agora, where archons, arbitrators and certain witnesses swore oaths

Usage notes

• Usually a masculine noun, but sometimes treated as feminine, particularly when used to refer to some kind of special stone (such as a gem or magnet).

Declension

Second declension of ὁ / ἡ λῐ́θος; τοῦ / τῆς λῐ́θου (Attic)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	ὁ / ἡ λῐ́θοςho / hē lĭ́thos	τὼ λῐ́θωtṑ lĭ́thō	οἱ / αἱ λῐ́θοιhoi / hai lĭ́thoi
genitive	τοῦ / τῆς λῐ́θουtoû / tês lĭ́thou	τοῖν λῐ́θοινtoîn lĭ́thoin	τῶν λῐ́θωνtôn lĭ́thōn
dative	τῷ / τῇ λῐ́θῳtōî / tēî lĭ́thōi	τοῖν λῐ́θοινtoîn lĭ́thoin	τοῖς / ταῖς λῐ́θοιςtoîs / taîs lĭ́thois
accusative	τὸν / τὴν λῐ́θονtòn / tḕn lĭ́thon	τὼ λῐ́θωtṑ lĭ́thō	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς λῐ́θουςtoùs / tā̀s lĭ́thous
vocative	λῐ́θεlĭ́the	λῐ́θωlĭ́thō	λῐ́θοιlĭ́thoi

• This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of λῐ́θος; λῐ́θοιο / λῐ́θου (Epic)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	λῐ́θοςlĭ́thos	λῐ́θωlĭ́thō	λῐ́θοιlĭ́thoi
genitive	λῐ́θοιο / λῐ́θουlĭ́thoio / lĭ́thou	λῐ́θοιῐ̈νlĭ́thoiĭ̈n	λῐ́θωνlĭ́thōn
dative	λῐ́θῳlĭ́thōi	λῐ́θοιῐ̈νlĭ́thoiĭ̈n	λῐ́θοισῐ / λῐ́θοισῐν / λῐ́θοιςlĭ́thoisĭ(n) / lĭ́thois
accusative	λῐ́θονlĭ́thon	λῐ́θωlĭ́thō	λῐ́θουςlĭ́thous
vocative	λῐ́θεlĭ́the	λῐ́θωlĭ́thō	λῐ́θοιlĭ́thoi

• Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Second declension of ὁ / ἡ λῐ́θος; τοῦ / τῆς λῐ́θου (Ionic)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	ὁ / ἡ λῐ́θοςho / hē lĭ́thos	τὼ λῐ́θωtṑ lĭ́thō	οἱ / αἱ λῐ́θοιhoi / hai lĭ́thoi
genitive	τοῦ / τῆς λῐ́θουtoû / tês lĭ́thou	τοῖν λῐ́θοινtoîn lĭ́thoin	τῶν λῐ́θωνtôn lĭ́thōn
dative	τῷ / τῇ λῐ́θῳtōî / tēî lĭ́thōi	τοῖν λῐ́θοινtoîn lĭ́thoin	τοῖσῐ / τοῖσῐν λῐ́θοισῐ / λῐ́θοισῐνtoîsĭ(n) lĭ́thoisĭ(n)
accusative	τὸν / τὴν λῐ́θονtòn / tḕn lĭ́thon	τὼ λῐ́θωtṑ lĭ́thō	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς λῐ́θουςtoùs / tā̀s lĭ́thous
vocative	λῐ́θεlĭ́the	λῐ́θωlĭ́thō	λῐ́θοιlĭ́thoi

• Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• λῐθᾰ́ργῠρος (lĭthắrgŭros)
• λῐ́θῐνος (lĭ́thĭnos)
• λῐθουργός (lĭthourgós)
• λῐθωτός (lĭthōtós)
• μονόλῐθος (monólĭthos)

Descendants

• ⇒ taxonomic name: Lithops
• → Catalan: liti (learned)
• → English: -lite, -lith, lith-, litho-
• → Georgian: ლითონი (litoni)
• ⇒ New Latin: lithium (see there for further descendants)
  • → English: lithium

Further reading

• “λίθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “λίθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “λίθος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891), A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• “λίθος” 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
• λίθος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “λίθος”, in Slater, William J. (1969), Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Strong, James (1979), “G3037”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • boulder idem, page 90.
  • crag idem, page 182.
  • gem idem, page 355.
  • jewel idem, page 463.
  • pebble idem, page 601.
  • precious idem, page 634.
  • rock idem, page 719.
  • stone idem, page 819.
  • touch-stone idem, page 884.
  • trinket idem, page 895.
• λίθος, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011

Greek

Etymology

Learnedly, from Ancient Greek λῐ́θος m or f (lĭ́thos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈli.θos/
• Hyphenation: λί‧θος

Noun

λίθος • (líthos) m or f (plural λίθοι)

1. masculine form:
   1. stone (building material)

      ο θεμέλιος λίθος ― o themélios líthos ― the foundation stone

   2. (medicine, formal) stone, calculus
   3. (archaeology) Εποχή του Λίθου (“Stone Age”)
2. feminine form (in compounds referring to special stones):
   1. λυδία λίθος (“touch stone”)
   2. φιλοσοφική λίθος (“philosopher's stone”)

Declension

Declension of λίθος

	singular	plural
nominative	λίθος (líthos)	λίθοι (líthoi)
genitive	λίθου (líthou)	λίθων (líthon)
accusative	λίθο (lítho)	λίθους (líthous)
vocative	λίθε (líthe)	λίθοι (líthoi)

Synonyms

• (rock, medicine): πέτρα f (pétra, “stone”)
• (rock): βράχος m (vráchos, “stone”)

Coordinate terms

• βράχος m (vráchos, “rock”)
• πέτρα f (pétra, “rock”)

Related terms

Expressions

• ακρογωνιαίος λίθος m (akrogoniaíos líthos, “cornerstone”)
• ημιπολύτιμος λίθος m (imipolýtimos líthos)
• θεμέλιος λίθος m (themélios líthos)
• κινώ πάντα λίθον (kinó pánta líthon)
• λίθοι, πλίνθοι και κέραμοι ατάκτως ερριμένα (líthoi, plínthoi kai kéramoi atáktos erriména)
• πολύτιμος λίθος m (polýtimos líthos)

Derivatives and compounds

• απολίθωμα n (apolíthoma, “fossil”)
• ασβεστόλιθος m (asvestólithos, “limestone”)
• λιθίαση f (lithíasi)
• λιθικός (lithikós)
• λίθινος f (líthinos)
• λιθογραφία f (lithografía, “lithograph, lithography”)
• λιθόκτιστος (lithóktistos)
• λιθοξόος m (lithoxóos)
• λιθόστρωτο n (lithóstroto, “cobblestone”)
• λιθόσφαιρα f (lithósfaira, “lithosphere”)
• λιθοτριψία f (lithotripsía)
• λιθώδης f (lithódis)
• μονόλιθος m (monólithos)
• σφραγιδόλιθος m (sfragidólithos)
• σχιστόλιθος m (schistólithos)

Further reading

• λίθος on the Greek Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^el
• λίθος, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language