Greek Word Look Up

[Dean]

Hi All,

I need help with the definiton of a word. It is e0nkatabai/nw and the form is
e0gkate/ba. Hope someone can help.

Dean

[annis]

What's the context? What sort of work is the word in?

[chad]

hi, i haven't read the nemean odes or commentaries on them, but the word seems to have there its direct meaning based on its compound elements, i.e.

"went" -bh/ba Doric +
"down" -kata- +
"into" -en.

the perseus translation puts it in the passive, "he was put in", but that's not exactly what the greek says. that's why we spend years learning greek, so that we can see these crucial differences of sense!!

the word has an uncanny resemblance to the 1st line of plato's republic hey, given that e)n and ei)j are related (ei)j from *enj). in fact there may be no resemblance at all.

edit, sorry i was thinking out loud, i presume from the doric ending that you're talking about its use in the first nemean of pindar, and that you're referring to a form of e)gkatabai/nw.

[ThomasGR]

Hi All,

I need help with the definiton of a word. It is e0nkatabai/nw and the form is
e0gkate/ba. Hope someone can help.

Dean

There is some type error here. If the second word is correct ("e0gkate/ba") the first word should be "e0gkatebai/nw", which makes more sense. "e0gkate/ba" looks like the imperative.

[annis]

"e0gkate/ba" looks like the imperative.

Doric, I think, as ἐγκατέβη.

[chad]

There is some type error here. If the second word is correct ("e0gkate/ba") the first word should be "e0gkatebai/nw", which makes more sense.

hi, what do you mean? the epsilon is an augment. in compound verbs the augment comes between the compound elements. this is clearly a Doric 2nd aorist 3rd p singular form of e)gkatabai/nw.

[ThomasGR]

"e0gkate/ba" looks like the imperative.

Doric, I think, as ἐγκατέβη.

Well, I looked some dictionaries, and they mentioned "katebainw" and "kateba", though cannot find any combined with the preposition "en-". Than again most dictionaries have mostly (if not exclusively) Ionian words.

[elis]

Well, I looked some dictionaries, and they mentioned "katebainw"

katebainw was listed as a present form? weird. I know there's a katebainw (present form) in modern greek. Perhaps you took it for katembainw which would be valid, but a different verb.