λεῖος

Forms

λεῖος (leîos) m (feminine λείᾱ, neuter λεῖον); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It continues an older form with a digamma, *λεῖϝος (*leîwos), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁y-u- (“smooth”).^[1][2] It is cognate with Latin lēvis (“smooth”), an i-stem that may have replaced an older u-stem.^[2][3] Schrijver derived both from a u-stem Proto-Indo-European *leh₁i-u-, made thematic in Greek.^[2][3] The same root is probably in λίς (lī́s, “smooth (of rock)”), λιτός (lītós, “plain”) and λείμαξ (leímax).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad (4.484) it describes the smooth trunk of a poplar, and Homer often uses it of level ground, a racecourse, a field cleared of obstacles, or a place free of rocks.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

From smooth and level ground it was used of anything smooth to the touch: an eel in Aristophanes, a calm sea in Herodotus, worked marble and unembossed silver plate in inscriptions.^[5][7] Of textiles it meant plain, not brocaded (Thucydides), and of people and animals smooth-skinned, hairless, beardless, and Aristotle calls man the smoothest of animals.^[5][7] Figuratively it described soft words (Aeschylus), smooth sounds (Plato), a gentle breeze (Aristophanes), and for the Cyrenaics the “smooth movement” that is pleasure.^[5][7]

Its derivatives include λειότης (leiótēs, “smoothness”) and the verb λειαίνω (leiaínō, “to smooth; grind fine”).^[3][4] The Gospel of Luke, in a passage from Isaiah, uses it of a level road.^[8]

Modern Greek has it as the learned Modern Greek λείος (líos), “smooth”, used in anatomy of smooth muscle fibres.^[9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of smooth trunks and level ground.^[5][6]
• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it of plain, unembroidered cloth.^[5][7][10]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it of smooth-skinned animals and of a smooth shark.^[5][10]
• 1st century AD – The Gospel of Luke uses it of a level road.^[8]
• Modern Greek – It is used as Modern Greek λείος (líos), a learned word.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Smooth to the touch.^[5][7]
2. Of ground: level, even; free from (with the genitive).^[5][7][6]
3. Of cloth: plain, not embroidered; of stone or metal: unsculptured, unembossed.^[5][7]
4. Of people and animals: smooth-skinned, hairless, beardless.^[5][7]
5. (figurative) Of words, sounds, a breeze or a temper: soft, gentle.^[5][7]

Word family

• λειογένειος (leiogéneios)
• λειότης (leiótēs)
• λειόπους (leiópous)
• λεωπετρία (leōpetría)

Related words

• λίς (lī́s)
• λιτός (lītós)
• Latin lēvis

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge