σπολάς

Forms

σπολᾰ́ς (spolás) f (genitive σπολᾰ́δος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes considers it probably Pre-Greek, because of the variation within its word family.^[2] In his Pre-Greek lexicon he groups it with the Hesychian ἄσπαλον (áspalon) “skin, hide”, which has a prothetic vowel and α where σπολάς has ο, two typical features, and he notes its suffix -αδ-.^[2][3] Scarborough's database rates this classification as very reliable.^[4]

Frisk, followed in part by Beekes, explains it instead as a formation in -άς from an unattested verbal noun *σπόλος (*spólos) or *σπολή (*spolḗ).^[5][2] If it first meant a hide stripped off an animal, it may belong with ἀσπάλαξ (aspálax) “mole” to an Indo-European verb Proto-Indo-European *spel- “to split, tear off”, together with Hesychius' σπόλια (spólia) “wool plucked from the legs of sheep”, but hardly with Thessalian σπόλος (spólos) “pole”.^[5][2] On that view it is related to Latin spolium “the skin stripped from an animal, spoils”, Lithuanian spãlis and German spalten “to split”.^[1][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in a fragment of Sophocles, of a leather jerkin.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

In Aristophanes' Birds a begging poet is given a jerkin to wear in the cold, and Xenophon's Anabasis uses it of the leather jerkins of soldiers; a diminutive σπολάδιον (spoládion) appears in a Delian inscription of about 342–340 BC.^[7][8][4] Some manuscripts of Xenophon read στολάς (stolás) instead.^[7] The later lexicographers define it as a deep leather tunic or a breastplate of hide, and as a leather garment fastened on and useful in battle.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it in a lost play.^[7][11]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes' Birds uses it of a jerkin given to a poet, and Xenophon of soldiers' leather jerkins.^[7][8][11]
• 4th century BC – A Delian inscription has the diminutive σπολάδιον.^[4]
• 2nd century AD – Pollux lists it in his Onomasticon.^[12]
• 9th century AD – Photius explains it as a leather garment for battle.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sleeveless leather jacket, a jerkin, worn by slaves and by soldiers.^[7][8]

Word family

• σπολάδιον (spoládion)

Related words

• ἄσπαλον (áspalon)
• Latin spolium

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Scarborough, Matthew (2025), PHILOGLOSSA: database of Pre-Greek and other non-Indo-European words in Ancient Greek, version 1.0
5. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ Charbonnet, André (2025), Chæréphon, v4.7: supplement to Bailly from papyri, inscriptions and recent lexica
7. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)
10. ^ a b Photius, Lexicon, ed. Christos Theodoridis, vol. 1 (Α–Δ) (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1982); ed. Richard Porson (Cambridge, 1822)
11. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
12. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux