The corpus record

μέλαθρον

melathron

vault of the roof, roof-beams, roof, also (often plur.) ‘dwelling, house

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

Where it lives

Trojan Women 10 · 14.13/10k
Heracles 9 · 11.5/10k
Iphigenia in Tauris 9 · 10.85/10k
Agamemnon 8 · 9.86/10k
Bacchae 7 · 9.31/10k
Orestes 7 · 7.14/10k
Iphigenia in Aulis 6 · 6.72/10k
Phoenissae 6 · 6.22/10k
Libation Bearers 3 · 5.58/10k
Electra 4 · 5.29/10k
Helen 5 · 5.11/10k
Suppliants 3 · 4.26/10k

Densest 12 of 22 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. μέλαθρον · melathron — Beekes

μέλαθρον [n.] ‘vault of the roof, roof-beams, roof, also (often plur.) ‘dwelling, house’ (IL, also inscr. Delos III*, LXX, pap.). < PG(V)> eVAR Also μελάθρα [f.] (Delos IV*). *COMP As a second member in ὑψι-μέλαθρος ‘with high-roof-beams’ (h. Merc.), etc. eDER μελαθρόομαι ‘provide with roof-beams’ (LXX). *ETYM Explained by the ancients as ἀπὸ τοῦ μελαίνεσθαι ὑπὸ tod καπνοῦ, ‘because of sooting by smoke’ (EM 576, … — [Beekes, s.v. μέλαθρον, p. 974]

2. μέλαθρον · melathron — Chantraine

μέλαθρον : maîtresse poutre d’un toit, poutre faîtière (Od. 8,279 ; 11,78, Pi. P. 5,40, etc.), cf. Martin, R. ΕἸ. Gr. 1967, 314 sq., « poutre » en général, « toit » (depuis Hom., poètes, Délos, etc.), en poésie, surtout au pluriel, toit d’où demeure. Composés : ὑψιμέλαθρος «au toit élevés (H. Hermès 103, etc.), ὑδρο- « qui ont l'eau pour toit », dit des poissons (Emp.), et quelques composés poétiques tardifs. Il … — [Chantraine, s.v. μέλαθρον, p. 697]

3. μέλαθρον · melathron — LSJ

roof-tree, ridge-pole, beam

roof-tree, ridge-pole, μελαθρόφιν ἐξεκέχυντο l.c., cf. 11.278, h.Ven. 173, IG ΙΙ(2).161A 105 (Delos, iii B. C.), 199A 113 (ibid., pl.); ἐπὶ προὔχοντι μελάθρῳ Od. 19.544: generally, beam, LXX 3 Ki. 7.9(20); τὰ μ. τῶν θυρίδων PRyl. 233.5 (ii A. D.).

2 roof

roof, Il. 2.414, Od. 18.150.

II house, halls

house, κυπαρίσσινον μ. Pi. P. 5.40; οὐράνιον μ., of heaven, E. Hec. 1101 (lyr.): mostly in pl., Alc. Supp. 19.2, etc.; μ. ἐν βασιλείοις in the kingʼs halls, A. Ch. 343 (anap.), etc.; ἐς δόμων μ. Id. Ag. 957; of a cave used as a dwelling, S. Ph. 147, E. Cyc. 491 (both anap.).

2 lair

lair of an animal, Opp. C. 2.307.

3 cage

cage, ib. 4.107, 423. (Acc. to EM 576.16 from μελαίνω, cf. καπνοδόκη; it is doubtful whether κμέλεθρον is cogn.)

In the wild

μελάθρων · melathrōn Aeschylus, Agamemnon 108–120
μελάθρων · melathrōn Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1332–1334
μέλαθρον · melathron Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1432–1436
μελάθρων · melathrōn Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1574–1576
μελάθροισιν · melathroisin Aeschylus, Agamemnon 763–771
μέλαθρα · melathra Aeschylus, Agamemnon 518–521

6 of 102 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. μέλαθρον (scan p. 974; entry #3988).
Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. μέλαθρον (scan p. 697; entry #5170).

Downloads

Word record (JSON)·Concordance (CSV)·Frequencies (CSV)·Cite (BibTeX)

CC BY 4.0 with receipt attribution — every file carries its license line. What is exportable

Ask the librarian

Ask about μέλαθρον →