ψιλόν

Forms

ψῑλόν (psīlón) n (genitive ψῑλοῦ); second declension^[2][3]

Etymology

It is the adjective from Ancient Greek ψιλός (psīlós, “bare, smooth”) used as a noun in the neuter.^[4][5] Beekes finds no etymology for the adjective.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest use is military: Xenophon and Aristotle use to psīlon for the light-armed troops, as opposed to the hoplites.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective ψιλός meant “bare”, of land, of skin stripped of hair, and of soldiers without heavy armour; the neuter noun collected these troops into one body.^[4]

The grammarians used the adjective for sounds without aspiration: vowels with the smooth breathing, and the plain stops π, τ, κ as against φ, θ, χ.^[4][1] When ⟨αι⟩ and ⟨ε⟩ came to sound alike, and ⟨οι⟩ and ⟨υ⟩, grammarians such as Herodian spoke of ε and υ “written plain” (psila), that is, with a single letter.^[4] From this came the letter names ἒ ψιλόν (è psīlón) and ὖ ψιλόν (û psīlón), first found in medieval texts; the fifth letter had been called εἶ (eî) earlier.^[4][7]

Timeline

• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses it for the light-armed troops.^[4][3]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it in the same military sense.^[4]
• 2nd century AD – Herodian speaks of ε written “plain”, not as the diphthong ⟨αι⟩.^[4]
• Middle Ages – Grammarians add the word to the names of the letters ⟨ε⟩ and ⟨υ⟩.^[4][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (military) The light-armed troops, as opposed to the hoplites.^[4][3][2]
2. (grammar) A vowel with the smooth breathing.^[1][5]
3. (grammar) A tenuis consonant (π, τ, κ), as opposed to the aspirates.^[1][5]

Related words

• ψιλή (psīlḗ)
• ψιλός (psīlós)
• English epsilon
• English upsilon

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli
3. ^ a b c d Дворецкий, И. Х. (1958), Древнегреческо-русский словарь, Moscow: ГИС
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c Βικιλεξικό, the Greek Wiktionary, https://el.wiktionary.org
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill