ἱστός

See also: ιστός and -ιστος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ἵστος (hístos) — Aeolic

Etymology

Related to ἵστημι (hístēmi), from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”).^[1]

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /his.tós/ → /isˈtos/ → /isˈtos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /his.tós/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /(h)isˈtos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /isˈtos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /isˈtos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /isˈtos/

Noun

ῐ̔στός • (hĭstós) m (genitive ῐ̔στοῦ); second declension

1. mast
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Odyssey 15.289:

     ἱστὸν δ’ εἰλάτινον κοίλης ἔντοσθε μεσόδμης στῆσαν ἀείραντες

     històn d’ eilátinon koílēs éntosthe mesódmēs stêsan aeírantes

     The mast of fir they raised and set in the hollow socket.

2. shinbone
   • Oppian, Cynegetica 1.408
3. an (unknown) constellation
   • 400 CE – 600 CE, Aëtius, Sixteen Books on Medicine 3.164
4. (weaving) beam (of a loom; see usage notes)
5. (weaving) loom
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 6.491:

     ἀλλ’ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σ’ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε ἱστόν τ’ ἠλακάτην τε

     all’ eis oîkon ioûsa tà s’ autês érga kómize histón t’ ēlakátēn te

     Nay, go thou to the house and busy thyself with thine own tasks, the loom and the distaff.

6. (weaving) web
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 3.125:

     τὴν δ’ εὗρ’ ἐν μεγάρῳ: ἣ δὲ μέγαν ἱστὸν ὕφαινε δίπλακα πορφυρέην

     tḕn d’ heûr’ en megárōi: hḕ dè mégan històn húphaine díplaka porphuréēn

     She found Helen in the hall, where she was weaving a great purple web of double fold.

Usage notes

Unlike modern looms, the beam of an Ancient Greek loom stood upright.

Inflection

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ ῐ̔στός ho hĭstós	τὼ ῐ̔στώ tṑ hĭstṓ	οἱ ῐ̔στοί hoi hĭstoí
Genitive	τοῦ ῐ̔στοῦ toû hĭstoû	τοῖν ῐ̔στοῖν toîn hĭstoîn	τῶν ῐ̔στῶν tôn hĭstôn
Dative	τῷ ῐ̔στῷ tôi hĭstôi	τοῖν ῐ̔στοῖν toîn hĭstoîn	τοῖς ῐ̔στοῖς toîs hĭstoîs
Accusative	τὸν ῐ̔στόν tòn hĭstón	τὼ ῐ̔στώ tṑ hĭstṓ	τοὺς ῐ̔στούς toùs hĭstoús
Vocative	ῐ̔στέ hĭsté	ῐ̔στώ hĭstṓ	ῐ̔στοί hĭstoí
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of ὁ ῐ̔στός; τοῦ ῐ̔στοῦ (Attic)

Derived terms

• ἱστάριον (histárion)
• ἱστεών (histeṓn)
• ἱστίον (histíon)
• ἱστοβοεύς (histoboeús)
• ἱστοδόκη (histodókē)
• ἱστοκεραία (histokeraía)
• ἱστοπέδη (histopédē)
• ἱστόποδες (histópodes)
• ἱστοποιΐα (histopoiḯa)
• ἱστοπόνος (histopónos)
• ἱστότονος (histótonos)
• ἱστουρψός (histourpsós)

Descendants

• English: histo-
• Greek: ιστός m (istós, “mast, loom, web”)

References

1. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἱστός”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 602

Further reading

• “ἱστός”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ἱστός”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ἱστός”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• ἱστός in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἱστός in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “ἱστός”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • frame idem, page 342.
  • loom idem, page 499.
  • mast idem, page 516.
  • warp idem, page 964.