LOGOI

The corpus record

γάλα

gala · τό

milk, the breast, milk

Generated live from the audited corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

Where it lives

  • Canticum 3 · 15.42/10k
  • Joel 1 · 6.49/10k
  • 1 Peter 1 · 5.8/10k
  • Libation Bearers 3 · 5.58/10k
  • Lamentationes 1 · 4.29/10k
  • De Memoria et Reminiscentia 1 · 4.16/10k
  • Deuteronomium 9 · 4.03/10k
  • Bacchae 3 · 3.99/10k
  • Hebrews 2 · 3.98/10k
  • Baruch 1 · 3.96/10k
  • On Hunting 3 · 3.3/10k
  • 1 Corinthians 2 · 2.96/10k

Densest 12 of 51 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant — LSJ

milk, the breast, milk

milk, ἀμελγόμενοι γ. λευκόν Il. 4.434, cf. Od. 4.88, etc.; εὔποτον γ., εὐτραφὲς γ., A. Pers. 611, Ch. 898; ἐν γάλακτι ὤν, τεθραμμένη, at the breast, E. HF 1266, Pl. Ti. 81c; ἐν γάλαξι τρέφεσθαι Id. Lg. l.c. (so metaph., ἐν σπαργάνοις καὶ γάλαξιν εἶναι, of art, Ael. VH 8.8); διδόναι γάλα X. Cyn. 7.4; ἐμπλῆσαι γάλακτος to fill full of milk, Theoc. 24.3: metaph., οἶνος, Ἀφροδίτης γ. Ar. Fr. 596.

2 white of egg

ὀρνίθων γ. (ὄρνιθος γάλα, = ὀρνιθόγαλον, Nic. Fr. 71.5, Dsc. 2.144), prov. of rare and dainty things, Ar. V. 508, Av. 734, Mcn. 936; τὸ λεγόμενον, σπανιώτατον πάρεστιν ὀρνίθων γ. Mnesim. 9, cf. Ach.Tat. Intr.Arat. 4 (expld. by Anaxag. 22 as white of egg, cf. Sch. Luc. Merc.Cond. 13).

3 wet-nurse

ἀγαθὸν γ. a good wet-nurse, Call. Epigr. 51; οὐδʼ εἰ γ. λαγοῦ εἶχον . . καὶ ταὧς, κατήσθιον Alex. 123.

II milky sap

milky sap of plants, Thphr. HP 6.3.4, etc.

III the milky way

the milky way, Parm. 11, Arist. Mete. 345a12, Arat. 476; but ὁ τοῦ γάλακτος κύκλος Euc. Phaen. p.4M., Gem. 5.69.

In the wild

6 of 107 attestations shown. Ask for more.

Where it came from

  • Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Brill 2010) Treated in Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Brill 2010) s.v. γάλα (scan p. 303; entry #1368). Root candidates: *galakt-, *glakt-, *katt’-.
  • Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. γάλα (scan p. 220; entry #1516).
  • Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch Treated in Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. γάλα (scan pp. 315-316; entry #1227).

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