γαλέη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• γαλέᾱ (galéā), γαλῆ (galê)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gl̥h₁éys (“weasel, mouse”) and cognate with Latin glīs (“dormouse”), Sanskrit गिरि (girí, “mouse”). According to Beekes, the word originally indicated the skin and later the animal itself.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ɡa.lé.ɛː/ → /ɣaˈle.i/ → /ɣaˈle.i/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ɡa.lé.ɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ɡaˈle.e̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɣaˈle.i/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ɣaˈle.i/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ɣaˈle.i/

Noun

γᾰλέη • (galéē) f (genitive γᾰλέης); first declension

1. name given to various animals of the Mustelidae family, like martens, weasels and polecats
2. kind of small fish

Inflection

First declension of ἡ γᾰλέη; τῆς γᾰλέης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ γᾰλέη hē galéē	τὼ γᾰλέᾱ tṑ galéā	αἱ γᾰλέαι hai galéai
Genitive	τῆς γᾰλέης tês galéēs	τοῖν γᾰλέαιν toîn galéain	τῶν γᾰλεῶν tôn galeôn
Dative	τῇ γᾰλέῃ têi galéēi	τοῖν γᾰλέαιν toîn galéain	ταῖς γᾰλέαις taîs galéais
Accusative	τὴν γᾰλέην tḕn galéēn	τὼ γᾰλέᾱ tṑ galéā	τᾱ̀ς γᾰλέᾱς tā̀s galéās
Vocative	γᾰλέη galéē	γᾰλέᾱ galéā	γᾰλέαι galéai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• γαλεάγκων (galeánkōn)
• γαλεάγρᾱ (galeágrā)
• γαλεόβδολον (galeóbdolon)
• γαλεός (galeós)
• γαλεώτης (galeṓtēs)
• γαλήοψις (galḗopsis)
• γαλιάω (galiáō)
• γαλιδεύς (galideús)
• μῡγᾰλέη (mūgaléē)

 

Descendants

• →⇒ English: galeanthropy, galeophobia
• →⇒ Translingual: Cheirogaleus, Dasogale, Galidia, Petrogale, Phascogale, Planigale, Spilogale

Further reading

• “γαλέη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• γαλέη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• γαλέη in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN