LOGOI

The corpus record

σπεῖρα

speira

twist, coil

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

Where it lives

What it meant

1. σπεῖρα · speira — Beekes

σπεῖρα [{.] ‘twist, coil’, for instance of a snake; ‘network, spiral’; designation of several round or circular objects, e.g. ‘rope, belt, bead, round base of a pillar’ (lon. poet., also Hell. and late prose; ν.], { 269); also as a military term = Lat. manipulus (Hell.), see Debrunner IF 48 (1930): 244; later = cohors (inscr. and pap., Act. Ap. et al.). «τεῦ *sper- ‘turn, wind’> «COMP Some compounds, e.g. … — [Beekes, s.v. σπεῖρα, p. 1430]

2. σπεῖρα · speira — Chantraine

σπεῖρα : ἢν «repli, spirale », d'un filet, d'un serpent, etc., nom de divers objets tordus ou arrondis, corde, courroie, moulure, aussi terme de géométrie (ion., prose hellén. et tardive, variante dans Od. 6,269) ; comme terme militaire — lat. manipulus (hellén.), image de ce qui est lié, rassemblé, de la botte, cf. Debrunner, IF 48, 1930, 244 ; plus tard aussi = cohors (inser., pap., Acf. Ap., etc.). Composés : au … — [Chantraine, s.v. σπεῖρα, p. 1054]

3. σπεῖρα · speira — Frisk

σπεῖρα f. "Windung, z.B. einer Schlange, eines Netzgeflechts, Spirale’, Ben. mehrerer gewundener oder kreisförmiger Gegenstände, z.B. “Tau, Riemen, Wulst, runde Säulenbasis’ (ion. poet., auch hell. u. sp. Prosa; v.1. ᾧ 269); auch als militärıscher Terminus -Ξ lat. manipulus (hell.; zur Erklärung [eig. “Bündel?] Debrunner IF 48, 244), später = cohors (Inschr. u. Pap., Act. Ap. u.a.). Einzelne Kompp., z.B. … — [Frisk, s.v. σπεῖρα, p. 1733]

4. σπεῖρα · speira — LSJ

anything twisted, wound, a ball

anything twisted or wound, ποιεῖν τι οἷον σπεῖραν twist it into a ball, Hp. Morb. 2.33.

2 coils, spires

pl., coils or spires of a serpent, S. Fr. 535 (anap.), Ar. Fr. 500; πολύπλοκοι σ. E. Med. 481, cf. Ion 1164: so in sg., Nic. Th. 156, A.R. 4.151, Arat. 47, 89, etc.

3 rope, cord, folds, shipʼs cable, padded circle, round cushion

rope, cord, Nic. Fr. 74.21, f.l. in Hp. Steril. 235; σπείραισι δικτυοκλώστοις with the netʼs meshy folds, S. Ant. 346 (lyr.); shipʼs cable, Plu. Garr. 2.507b; padded circle used by women carrying weights on their head, Aët. 12.55; so by Atlas, Apollod. 2.5.11; as a lamp-stand, ἀρτεμισίας σ. ἐπὶ τὸν λύχνον PMag.Lond. 121.601 (cf. σπειρίον III); round cushion, IG 5(1).1390.24 (Andania, i B.C.).

4 a mode of dressing the hair

a mode of dressing the hair, Poll. 2.31, 4.149.

5 thongs, straps

σ. βόειαι thongs or straps of ox-hide to guard and arm a boxerʼs fist, Theoc. 22.80.

6 knot, curl in wood

knot or curl in wood, Thphr. HP 5.2.3, Plin. HN 16.198.

7 cheesecake

a kind of cheesecake (al. σπῖρα), Chrysipp.Tyan. ap. Ath. 14.647d.

8 rounded moulding, torus

rounded moulding in the base of an Ionic or Corinthian column, torus, IG 1(2).372.64, Sardis 7(1) No.181 (i A.D.), CIG 2713-14 (Labranda), Poll. 7.121, Vitr. 3.5.3.

9 anchor-ring, tore

Geom., anchor-ring, tore, produced by revolution of a circle about a line in its plane but not passing through the centre, Hero *Deff. 97, Procl. in Euc. p.119 F.

II tactical unit, manipulus, cohort

Milit., tactical unit, in the Ptolemaic army, BGU 1806.4 (i B.C.); used to translate the Roman manipulus, Plb. 11.23.1, al., Str. 12.3.18, Plu. Aem. 17; κατὰ σπείρας,= Lat. manipulatim, Plb. 3.115.12; later, cohort, Act. Ap. 10.1, J. BJ 3.4.2, IGRom. 1.10 (Massilia), 1373 (Egypt), al., OGI 208.2 (Nubia, ii A.D.), al. (gen. in this sense always σπείρης, Act.Ap. l.c., POxy. 477.3 (ii A.D.), BGU 73 (ii A.D.), OGI l.c., etc.).

2 religious college, guild

= θίασος, religious college or guild, gen. σπείρης IG 14.925 (Portus Trajani); dat. σπείρῃ ib. 977 (Rome), Inscr.Perg. 319,320; nom. σπεῖρα AEM 14.28 (Roumania); Lat. spira, CIL 6.261 (Rome), al. (cf. σπειράρχης).

In the wild

6 of 12 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. σπεῖρα (scan p. 1430; entry #5710). Root candidates: *sper-.
  • Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Treated in Chantraine, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque s.v. σπεῖρα (scan pp. 1054-1055; entry #7506).
  • Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch Treated in Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. σπεῖρα (scan p. 1733; entry #5306).

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 σπεῖρα →