πάλη

Forms

πᾰ́λη (pálē) f (genitive πᾰ́λης); first declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is unclear.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary derives it from the root of πάλλω (pállō, “to swing, shake”).^[1] It belongs with the verb παλαίω (palaíō, “to wrestle”), under which BDAG and Chantraine treat it.^[5][3]

For the verb, Beekes considers two sources: the root of “to swing”, with “rock, sway” becoming “wrestle”, or the root of πίλναμαι (pílnamai, “to approach”), Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₂-, with the sense “make close contact”, but finds both hypothetical.^[2] Chantraine calls the verb a technical term of unclear formation, and a link with the verb for “swing” difficult, though possible for the noun.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for wrestling as one of the contests beside boxing and running: πὺξ ἠὲ πάλῃ ἢ καὶ ποσίν, “with the fists, in wrestling or with the feet”.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Pindar, in the Doric form πάλα, and Euripides use it of victories in wrestling, and inscriptions list it as an event with classes for boys, ephebes and men.^[6][7] Aristophanes uses it for a wrestling trick.^[7] In tragedy it widened to any struggle or fight, as in Aeschylus and in Euripides' “struggle of the spear”.^[6][7][5] In the Letter to the Ephesians it is the Christians' struggle against the powers of darkness.^[5]

Latin borrowed it as pale.^[8] It continues in Medieval Greek and, as a learned word, in Modern Greek πάλη (páli).^[9][10]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it for wrestling.^[6][11]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar celebrates victories in wrestling.^[6][12]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it of a fight.^[6][7][12]
• 5th century BC – Euripides speaks of the “struggle of the spear”.^[6][12]
• 4th century BC – An inscription from Lycosura lists wrestling for different age classes.^[6]
• New Testament – The Letter to the Ephesians uses it of the struggle against the powers of darkness.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Wrestling, as exercise and as a competitive sport.^[6][7]
2. A wrestling trick.^[7]
3. A struggle, a fight or battle.^[6][7][5]

Related words

• παλαίω (palaíō)
• παλαίστρα (palaístrā)
• πάλαισμα (pálaisma)
• Latin pale

Usage notes

A separate πάλη means the finest meal or flour, and any fine dust, in Hippocratic writers and Pherecrates.^[6][2] Beekes finds its derivation from πάλλω, in the sense of sieving flour, conceivable but not compelling, and also compares Latin pollen and Latin puls (“porridge”).^[2]

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 Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c d e 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
9. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
12. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge