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The corpus record

νέφος

nephos

cloud, mass of clouds

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Where it lives

Densest 12 of 31 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. νέφος · nephos — Beekes

νέφος [n.] ‘cloud, mass of clouds’ (II.). 416 *neb’-s- ‘cloud’> *COMP νεφο-ειδής ‘cloud-like’ (Epicur.), συν-νεφής ‘surrounded by clouds, dark’ (E., Arist.), ἐπι-νεφής ‘cloudy, bringing clouds’ (Arist. Thphr.) with the verbal formations (probably back-formations): ovv-véget, -vévogev (Ar. E., Arist.), értνέφει (Arist., Thphr.) ‘is or makes cloudy’, whence ἐπίνεψις [f.] ‘cloudiness’ (Arist.). *DER 1. Diminutive … — [Beekes, s.v. νέφος, p. 1063]

2. Νέφος · Nephos — Chantraine

Νέφος comporte en i.-e. oriental des rapprochements satisfaisants : skr. nébhas- n. «nuage, brouillard », v. sl. nebo, gén. nebese « ciel», hitt. nepis «ciel» (de *nebhes-) «ciel » (pour le passage du sens de « nuage » à celui de « ciel » voir Brandenstein, Stud. z. indo-germ. Grundsprache 24). Pour l'alternance des suffixes *-es-, -ἰ-, -el-, cf. ἔτος, ἔταλον, etc., et voir Benveniste, Origines 46 sq. On devrait … — [Chantraine, s.v. Νέφος, p. 765]

3. νέφος · nephos — LSJ

cloud, mass of clouds

cloud, mass of clouds, Il. 4.275, al.; σμικροῦ νέφους ἐκπνεύσας μέγας χειμών S. Aj. 1148; ν. ὄμβριον Ar. Nu. 288 (lyr.); ν. καὶ ὁμίχλη Pl. Ti. 49c; τὸν κίνδυνον παρελθεῖν ὥσπερ ν. D. 18.188.

2 a cloud upon

metaph. (cf. νεφέλη I.2), θανάτου δὲ μέλαν ν. ἀμφεκάλυψεν Il. 16.350, cf. Od. 4.180, B. 12.64; λάθας ν. Pi. O. 7.45; σκότου ν., of blindness, S. OT 1314 (lyr.); ν. οἰμωγῆς, στεναγμῶν, E. Med. 107 (anap.), HF 1140; ὀφρύων ν. a cloud upon the brow, Id. Hipp. 172 (anap.); ὑπὸ τοῦ μετώπου οἷον ν. ἐπανεστηκός Arist. Phgn. 809b22; διασκεδᾶτε τὸ προσὸν νῦν ν. ἐπὶ τοῦ προσώπου Anaxandr. 58.

II a cloud of men, the cloud, thick

metaph., also, a cloud of men, etc., ν. πεζῶν, Τρώων, Il. 4.274, 16.66; ψαρῶν, κολοιῶν, 17.755; ν. τοσοῦτον ἀνθρώπων Hdt. 8.109; πενεστάων ν. Timo 39; μαρτύρων Ep.Hebr. 12.1; πολέμοιο ν. the cloud of battle, thick of the fight, Il. 17.243, cf. Ar. Pax 1090: applied by Pi. N. 10.9 to a single hero: used by Prose writers for poet. νεφέλη (q. v.). (Cf. Skt. nábhas ‘fog’, ‘cloud’, Slav. nebo ‘heaven’, Lat. nebula.)

In the wild

6 of 167 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. νέφος (scan p. 1063; entry #4316).
  • Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. νέφος (scan p. 765; entry #5616). Root candidates: *nebhes-.

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