LOGOI

The corpus record

σημεῖον

semeion · τό

mark, sign, trace, track

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 92 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. σημεῖον · sēmeion — LSJ

mark, sign, trace, track

mark by which a thing is known, Hdt. 2.38; σημεῖα τῶν δεδικασμένων . ., σημεῖα πάντων ὧν ἔπραξαν Pl. R. 614c; sign of the future, τυραννίδος σ. A. Ag. 1355; σ. λαβεῖν ἔκ τινος E. Hipp. 514; trace, track, σημεῖα δʼ οὔτε θηρὸς οὔτε του κυνῶν . . ἐξεφαίνετο S. Ant. 257, cf. El. 886; τῆς καταβάσεως X. An. 6.2.2; of a cork on a buoy, Paus. 8.12.1.

b tomb

Dor., tomb, IG 12(3).452 (iv B.C.), CIG l.c.

2 sign from the gods, omen, wonder, portent, the constellations, signs

sign from the gods, omen, S. OC 94; τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν θεῶν σ. γενόμενα Antipho 5.81, cf. Pl. Phdr. 244c, Ap. 40b, X. Cyr. 1.6.1; wonder, portent, LXX Ex. 4.8, al.; σ. καὶ τέρατα Plb. 3.112.8, Ev.Matt. 24.24, Ev.Jo. 4.48, cf. IPE l.c., D.S. 17.114; φόβηθρα καὶ σ. ἀπʼ οὐρανοῦ Ev.Luc. 21.11; esp. of the constellations, regarded as signs, δύεται σημεῖα E. Rh. 529 (lyr.), cf. Ion 1157.

3 sign, signal, signal, signal for battle, it, flag, sign, signal, signal, signal

sign or signal to do a thing, made by flags, ἀνέδεξε σημήϊον τοῖσι ἄλλοισι ἀνάγεσθαι he made signal for the rest to put to sea, Hdt. 7.128; signal for battle, τὰ σ. ἤρθη, κατεσπάσθη, Th. 1.49, 63, etc.; καθαιρεῖν τὸ σ. to take it down, strike the flag, as a sign of dissolving an assembly, And. 1.36; τὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας σ. Ar. Th. 278; ὕστερος ἐλθεῖν τοῦ σ. Id. V. 690: generally, signal, σ. ὑποδηλῶσαί τινι ὅτι . . Id. Th. 1011; τὰ σ. αὐτοῖς ἤρθη Th. 4.42; τὸ σ. τοῦ πυρός, ὡς εἴρητο, ἀνέσχον ib. 111;

4 standard, flag, lines

standard or flag, on the admiralʼs ship, Hdt. 8.92; on the generalʼs tent, X. Cyr. 8.5.13; ἔξω τῶν σ. out of the lines, ib. 8.3.19.

b body of troops

body of troops under one standard or flag, PAmh. 2.39.2 (ii B.C.); cf. σημεία I.2.

5 mark, boundary, limit, limits

landmark, boundary, limit, ἔξω τῶν σ. τοῦ ὑμετέρου ἐμπορίου out of the limits of your commercial port, D. 35.28; of milestones, Plu. CG 7, Hdn. 2.13.9.

6 device, figure-head

device upon a shield, Hdt. 1.171, E. Ph. 1114; upon ships, figure-head, Ar. Ra. 933, Th. 6.31, E. IA 255 (lyr.).

7 signet, figure, image, badge, written characters

signet on ring, etc., Ar. Eq. 952, V. 585, Pl. Tht. 191d, al., X. HG 5.1.30, D. 42.2, PRev.Laws 26.5 (iii B.C.); figure, image, Διὸς κτησίου Anticl. 13; badge, τρίαιναν σ. θεοῦ A. Supp. 218: pl., written characters, γράψαι σημήϊα . . φωνῆς IG 14.1549 (Rome).

b stripes, clavi

pl. (Dor.) σαμεῖα, stripes, ib. 5(1).1390.16 (Andania, i B.C.); clavi· σημεῖα, Gloss.

8 watchword, war-cry

watchword, war-cry, Plb. 5.69.8; ἀπὸ σ. ἑνὸς ἐπιστρέφειν τὰς ναῦς Th. 2.90, cf. X. HG 6.2.28.

9 birthmark, distinguishing feature

birthmark or distinguishing feature, Wilcken Chr. 76.14 (ii A.D.), Sammelb. 15.27 (ii A.D.), etc.

II sign, token, indication

sign, token, indication of anything that is or is to be, S. OT 1059, E. Ph. 1332; σ. φαίνεις ἐσθλὸς . . γεγώς S. El. 24, cf. OT 710; τέχνης σ. τῆς ἐμῆς Id. Ant. 998; so later τὰ σ. τῶν καιρῶν Ev.Matt. 16.3, etc.

2 sign, proof, proof, instance, example

in reasoning, a sign or proof, Ar. Nu. 369, Th. 1.6, 10, And. 2.25, etc.; τούτων ὑμῖν σημεῖα δείξω Aeschin. 2.103, cf. 3.46; τάδε τὰ σ. ὡς . . X. Ages. 1.5; σ. εἰ . . Pl. Grg. 520e; ὅτι ἀγαθὸς ἦν . ., τοῦτο μέγιστον σ. Id. Min. 321b; τὸ μὴ ἐκδυθῆναι οὐδὲν σ. ἐστι is no proof to the contrary, Antipho 2.2.5; also, instance, example, Hp. VM 20; σημεῖον δέ· to introduce an argument, D. 21.149, Isoc. 4.86,107, etc.

3 a sign, a probable argument

in the Logic of Arist., a sign used as a probable argument in proof of a conclusion, opp. τεκμήριον (a demonstrative or certain proof), APr. 70a11, SE 167b9, Rh. 1357a33.

b sign

in Stoic and Epicurean philos., sign as observable basis of inference to the unobserved or unobservable, Epicur. Ep. 2p.43U., Phld. Sign. 27, al., S.E. M. 8.142, al.; περὶ σημείων (dub. sens.), title of work by Zeno, Stoic. 1.14.

4 symptom

Medic., symptom, Hp. Morb. 3.6, 15, Aret. SD 1.9, Gal. 1.313, 18(2).306.

b

= Lat. lenticula, a kind of skin-eruption, Cels. 6.5.1.

5 shorthand symbols

pl., shorthand symbols, Plu. Cat.Mi. 23, Gal. Libr.Propr. 1, POxy. 724.3 (ii A.D.), Lib. Or. 42.25.

6 critical mark

critical mark, Heph. Poëm. p.73C., D.L. 3.65.

III mathematical point, point, instant

= στιγμή, mathematical point, Arist. APo. 76b5, Ph. 240b3, Euc. Def. 1, al.; also σ. (with or without χρόνου) point of time, instant, Arist. Cael. 283a11, Ph. 262b2sq.

2 unit of time

in Prosody and Music, unit of time, Aristid.Quint. 1.14, Longin. Proll. Heph. 5.

2. σημήϊον · sēmēion — LSJ

In the wild

6 of 546 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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