LOGOI

The corpus record

σᾰφής

saphes

clear, plain, distinct

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

Where it lives

  • Ichneutae 4 · 23.27/10k
  • Euthyphro 8 · 15.47/10k
  • Oedipus Tyrannus 13 · 14.05/10k
  • Susanna (LXX) 1 · 13.09/10k
  • Sophist 20 · 12.49/10k
  • Helen 12 · 12.26/10k
  • Prometheus Bound 7 · 11.9/10k
  • Philebus 20 · 11.35/10k
  • Ways and Means 4 · 10.46/10k
  • Electra 9 · 10.37/10k
  • Orestes 10 · 10.2/10k
  • Libation Bearers 5 · 9.3/10k

Densest 12 of 91 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant — LSJ

clear, plain, distinct, distinctly legible, prominent, clear, manifest, it is manifest, quite clear, clear, truth

clear, plain, distinct, of things heard, perceived, or known, σαφὲς δʼ οὐκ οἶδα h.Merc. 208 (Hom. only has Adv. σάφα, q.v.); μῦθος A. Pr. 641; λόγος Id. Ag. 1047; χρησμός Ar. Lys. 777; κτύπος S. OC 1501; φθέγματʼ ὀρνίθων Id. El. 18; γράμματα distinctly legible, OGI 665.12 (Egypt, i A.D.); τὰς κλεῖς ἔχουσι σαφεῖς prominent collar-bones, Gal. 17(2).97: generally, clear or manifest to the mind, σ. ἀρετά Pi. I. 1.22; τέκμαρ Id. N. 11.43; σημεῖα S. El. 23; πρόνοια Id. OT 978; τεκμήριον E. Hipp. 926;

2 sure, unerring, accurate

of persons (mostly Trag.), σ. ἄγγελος A. Th. 82 (lyr.); φίλος E. Or. 1155; μηνυταί Pl. Lg. 918a; esp. of seers, oracles, prophets, sure, unerring, S. OT 390, 1011, OC 623; accurate, γραμματεύς A. Fr. 358.

II clearly, plainly, distinctly

Adv. σᾰφῶς, Ion., etc. -έως, h.Cer. 149, and freq. in Hdt., esp. (like σάφα) with Verbs of saying, hearing, knowing, clearly, plainly, distinctly, σαφέως φράσαι 2.31; δηλοῦν ib. 44; ἐπίστασθαι 8.88; δεῖξαι A. Pr. 914; εἰδέναι S. El. 660; σαφέως μαρτυρήσω Pi. O. 6.20; φράσσατέ μοι σ. Id. P. 4.117; ἤκουον σ. S. Ph. 595, etc.; εὖ γὰρ οἶδʼ ἐγὼ σ. Ar. Pax 1302.

2 clearly, manifestly, undoubtedly

clearly, manifestly, σ. μʼ ἐς οἶκον σὸς λόγος στέλλει πάλιν A. Pr. 389; πρὸς γυναικὸς ἦν σ. Id. Ag. 1636; κατοικεῖ τούσδε τοὺς τόπους σ. S. Ph. 40; σ. φρόνει be well assured of it, ib. 810; σ. ᾔρετο ἡ δύναμις Th. 1.118; σ. ἀπολωλέναι to be undoubtedly dead, X. Cyr. 3.2.15; πήγνυμαι σ. Antiph. 166.7; ὡς κεχρημένη σ. σιδήρῳ καὶ φοροῦσα τοὔνομα (sc. Σιδηρώ) S. Fr. 658; τῶν σ. ἀποχειροβιώτων X. Cyr. 8.3.37, cf. Smp. 4.32.

3 yes obviously

in affirmative answers, yes obviously, ib. 60.

4

Comp. -έστερον A. Ch. 735, 767, Pl. Prt. 352a, al.; -εστέρως Arist. Metaph. 986b30 (as v.l.): Sup. -έστατα A. Ag. 38, S. OT 286, Ar. Pl. 46, Pl. Phd. 58d.

In the wild

6 of 599 attestations shown. Ask for more.

Where it came from

No etymology authority pointer is recorded for this lemma yet — an honest gap, not an omission. The etymological dictionaries (Beekes, Chantraine, Frisk) are matched incrementally.

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