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A Greek-English Lexicon


Synopsis


Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon (9/e 1940) is the most comprehensive and up-to-date ancient Greek dictionary in the world. It is used by every student of ancient Greek in the English-speaking world, and is an essential library and scholarly purchase there and in W. Europe and Japan. The main dictionary covers every surviving ancient Greek author and text discovered up to 1940, from the Pre-Classical Greek of the 11C - 8C BC (for example Homer and Hesiod), through Classical Greek (7C - 5C BC) to the Hellenistic Period, including the Greek Old and New Testaments. Entries list irregular inflections, and together with the definition, each sense includes citations from Greek authors illustrating usage. The Lexicon is Greek into English only, as are other ancient Greek dictionaries. This is the market expectation among both students and scholars. In 1968 the Lexicon was updated with a Supplement, which was available as a separate volume (until 1992) or bound together with the dictionary. Representing the culmination of 13 years' work, the new Revised Supplement is a complete replacement for the 1968 Supplement. Nearly twice the size of the 1968 edition, with over 20,000 entries, it adds to the dictionary words and forms from papyri and inscriptions discovered between 1940 and the 1990s as well as a host of other revisions, updatings, and corrections to the main dictionary. Linear B forms are shown within entries for the first time, and the Revised Supplement gives the dictionary a date-range from 1200 BC to 600 AD. It is fully cross-referenced to the main text but additions have been designed to be easily used without constant reference to the main text.

Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, Roderick McKenzie

Summary

Chapter 1: A History of the Lexicon

This chapter traces the development of Greek lexicography from its origins in the Homeric period to the present day. It discusses the major milestones in the history of Greek lexicography, including the compilation of the first Greek-Latin dictionaries in the Hellenistic period, the development of the Byzantine lexicographical tradition, and the emergence of modern Greek lexicography in the 19th century.

Chapter 2: The Structure of the Lexicon

This chapter provides an overview of the structure of the lexicon. It discusses the different types of entries in the lexicon, including headwords, definitions, examples, and grammatical information. It also explains the use of cross-references and other features of the lexicon.

Chapter 3: The Headword

This chapter focuses on the headword, which is the main entry in the lexicon. It discusses the different types of headwords, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. It also explains the use of headwords that are not complete words, such as prefixes and suffixes.

Chapter 4: The Definition

This chapter discusses the definition, which is the most important part of the lexicon entry. It explains the different types of definitions, including synonymous definitions, descriptive definitions, and explanatory definitions. It also discusses the use of definitions that are not complete sentences, such as phrases and idioms.

Chapter 5: The Example

This chapter discusses the example, which is a sentence or phrase that illustrates the use of the headword. It explains the different types of examples, including simple examples, complex examples, and illustrative examples. It also discusses the use of examples that are not complete sentences, such as fragments and quotations.

Chapter 6: The Grammatical Information

This chapter discusses the grammatical information that is included in the lexicon entry. It explains the different types of grammatical information, including part of speech, gender, number, and tense. It also discusses the use of grammatical information that is not complete, such as abbreviations and symbols.

Chapter 7: The Cross-Reference

This chapter discusses the cross-reference, which is a reference to another entry in the lexicon. It explains the different types of cross-references, including see references, see also references, and compare references. It also discusses the use of cross-references that are not complete, such as abbreviations and symbols.

Chapter 8: The Appendix

This chapter discusses the appendix, which is a collection of additional information that is not included in the main body of the lexicon. It explains the different types of appendices, including appendices of proper names, appendices of technical terms, and appendices of etymologies. It also discusses the use of appendices that are not complete, such as abbreviations and symbols.

Real Example

The following is an example of a lexicon entry for the word "ἀγαθός" (good):

ἀγαθός

1. adj. good, noble, excellent
2. noun. a good man, a worthy person

Examples:

* ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος (the good man)
* ἡ ἀγαθὴ γυνή (the good woman)
* τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἔργον (the good work)

Grammatical Information:

* adj. decl. 1
* noun. masc.