κᾶλον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

The word has been connected with καίω (kaíō, “to burn”) as "firewood", by comparison with the synonymous δᾱλός (dālós, “firebrand”). However, according to Beekes, a Pre-Greek origin is much more likely.^[1]

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kâː.lon/ → /ˈka.lon/ → /ˈka.lon/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kâː.lon/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈka.lon/

Noun

κᾶλον • (kâlon) n (genitive κᾱ́λου); second declension

1. (mostly in the plural) wood, logs, timber, especially for ships

   Synonyms: κάστον (káston), ξύλον (xúlon)

Inflection

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ κᾶλον tò kâlon	τὼ κᾱ́λω tṑ kā́lō	τᾰ̀ κᾶλᾰ tà kâla
Genitive	τοῦ κᾱ́λου toû kā́lou	τοῖν κᾱ́λοιν toîn kā́loin	τῶν κᾱ́λων tôn kā́lōn
Dative	τῷ κᾱ́λῳ tôi kā́lōi	τοῖν κᾱ́λοιν toîn kā́loin	τοῖς κᾱ́λοις toîs kā́lois
Accusative	τὸ κᾶλον tò kâlon	τὼ κᾱ́λω tṑ kā́lō	τᾰ̀ κᾶλᾰ tà kâla
Vocative	κᾶλον kâlon	κᾱ́λω kā́lō	κᾶλᾰ kâla
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of τὸ κᾶλον; τοῦ κᾱ́λου (Attic)

Derived terms

• κᾱ́λινος (kā́linos)
• κᾱ́λιον (kā́lion)
• κᾱλοπέδιλα (kālopédila)
• κᾱλοπόδιον (kālopódion)
• κᾱλόπους (kālópous)
• κᾱλοτύπος (kālotúpos)
• κᾱλοφόρος (kālophóros)
• κᾱλύριον (kālúrion)

 

Descendants

• → Latin: cāla

References

1. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “κᾶλον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 625-6

Further reading

• “κᾶλον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “κᾶλον”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• κᾶλον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette