LOGOI

The corpus record

σῆμα

sema

sign, symbol, trait, omen, mark, character, feature, gravestone

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

Where it lives

Densest 12 of 23 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. σῆμα · sēma — Beekes

σῆμα [n.] ‘sign, symbol, trait, omen, mark, character, feature, gravestone’ (II.). «Ὁ» «ΑΚ Dor. σᾶμα. *COMP E.g. σηματ-ουργός [m.] ‘mark maker’ (A.); often as a second member with regular transition into the o-stems, eg. ἄ-σημος, Dor. ἄ-σᾶμος ‘without signs, unimpressed, unintelligible’ (IA, Dor.), taken over as MP asém ‘(uncoined) silver’, MoP sim “(silver) thread’, cf. Bailey TPS 1933: 50), isolated ἀ-σήμων ‘id’ … — [Beekes, s.v. σῆμα, p. 1374]

2. σῆμα · sēma — Chantraine

σῆμα : dor. σᾷμα n., tout ce qui constitue un signe, un signal, une marque, un signe de reconnaissance, un signe envoyé par les dieux, emblème d’un bouclier, ce qui indique la présence d’un mort, tumulus, monument funéraire (Hom., ion.-att,, etc.). Composés : σηματουργός «celui qui fait un emblème sur un bouclier » (Æsch.) ; souvent au second terme avec une finale en -μοὸς (comme -auuoc de αἷμα, ete.) : ἄσημος «sans … — [Chantraine, s.v. σῆμα, p. 1018]

3. σῆμα · sēma — Frisk

σῆμα, dor. σᾶμα ἢ. “Zeichen, Ab-, Kenn-, Vor-, Mal-, Schriftzeichen, Merkmal, Grabmal’ (seit Il.). Kompp., z.B. anuar-ovgγός m. “Zeichenbildner’ (A.); oft als Hinterglied mit regelmäßigem Übertritt in die o-Stämme, z.B. ἄ-σημος, dor. d-aäuos “ohne Abzeichen, ungeprägt, unverständlich’ (ion. att., dor.), vereinzelt ἀ-σήμων ds.’ (S.), ἐπίσημος, dor. -d- “mit einem 690 σήμερον---σήπομιαι Zeichen versehen’ (ion. att., … — [Frisk, s.v. σῆμα, p. 1667]

4. σῆμα · sēma — LSJ

sign, mark, token

sign, mark, token, Il. 10.466, 23.326, Od. 19.250, etc.; of the star on a horseʼs forehead, Il. 23.455; ἥβης σήματα γεινομένης Sol. 27.4; νέφος σ. χειμῶνος Archil. 54; esp.

1 sign from heaven, omen, portent

sign from heaven, omen, portent, in phrases, σήματα φαίνω Il. 2.353, cf. 308; κτύπε Ζεύς, σ. τιθεὶς Τρώεσσι 8.171; δεικνὺς σ. βροτοῖσι 13.244; θεοῦ σάμασιν πιθόμενοι Pi. P. 4.200, cf. 1.3; φλογωπὰ σ. A. Pr. 498, cf. Ch. 259; of things heard as well as seen, ἔπος φάτο σ. ἄνακτι Od. 20.111.

2 sign to do, begin something, watchword, battle-sign, signal

generally, sign to do or begin something, τόδε σ. τετύχθω 21.231; σ. ἀροτοῖο Hes. Op. 450; esp. watchword, τί τὸ σῆμα; θρόει E. Rh. 12 (anap.), cf. 688; battle-sign, signal, σ. μάχης Id. Ph. 1378.

3 sign by which a grave is known, mound, cairn, barrow, a mound, grave, tomb

sign by which a grave is known, mound, cairn, barrow, Il. 2.814, etc.; τοῦ δὲ τάφον καὶ σῆμʼ ἀϊδὲς ποίησεν Ἄναυρος Hes. Sc. 477; ἐπὶ σῆμʼ ἔχεεν raised a mound, Il. 6.419, etc.; σ. κυνός E. Hec. 1273: c. dat. pers., σῆμά τέ οἱ χεύω Od. 2.222; σῆμά τέ μοι χεῦαι . . ἀνδρὸς δυστήνοιο 11.75; σάματι πὰρ Πέλοπος Pi. O. 10(11).24; grave, tomb, Hdt. 1.93, 4.72, Berl.Sitzb. l.c., etc.; τὸ δημόσιον σ. Th. 2.34; στῆλαι ἀπὸ σημάτων Id. 1.93, cf. Ar. Th. 886, 888, etc.; ἤδη του . . ἤκουσα τῶν σοφῶν ὡς τὸ μὲν

4 mark to show the cast of a quoit, javelin, boundary

mark to show the cast of a quoit or javelin, ὑπέρβαλε σήματα πάντων Il. 23.843; ὑπέρπτατο σ. πάντων Od. 8.192; also, boundary, D.P. 18.

5 token, mark, token, device, bearing, seal, mark

token by which any oneʼs identity or commission was certified, μιν ἐρέεινε καὶ ᾔτεε σ. ἰδέσθαι Il. 6.176, cf. 178; σ. λυγρά, of written characters or symbols, ib. 168; mark, token on the lot of Ajax, 7.189; so, device or bearing on a shield, by which a warrior is known, freq. in A. Th., as 387, 404, E. El. 456 (lyr.); of the seal set on a box, τῶνδʼ ἀποίσεις σ. S. Tr. 614; mark made by an illiterate person, PMasp. 163.37 (vi A.D.).

6 constellation, heavenly bodies

constellation, mostly in pl., heavenly bodies, S. Fr. 432; also λαμπρότατος μὲν ὅ γʼ ἐστί, κακὸν δέ τε σῆμα τέτυκται, of Sirius, Il. 22.30. (Perh. cogn. with Skt. dhyāti ‘thinks’.)

In the wild

6 of 106 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. σῆμα (scan p. 1374; entry #5481).
  • Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. σῆμα (scan p. 1018; entry #7186).
  • Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch Treated in Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. σῆμα (scan pp. 1667-1668; entry #5118).

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