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πτερόν

πτερόν, feathers

πτερόν, τό, (πέτομαι, πτέσθαι) mostly in pl.,
  • feathers, Od. 15.527, Hdt. 2.73, etc.: in sg., feather, E. Rh. 618, Ar. Ach. 584, 1105; πτεροῦ σῦριγξ quill, Hp. Fist. 6; τὰ ὦτα πτερῷ κνωμένοις Luc. Salt. 2; ἀντὶ τριχῶν πτερὰ φύειν Pl. Ti. 91d (cf. Ar. Av. 106); ἡ τῶν π. ἀποβολή Pl. Phdr. 246d: prov., πόνου δʼ ἴδοις ἂν οὐδαμοῦ ταὐτὸν π. misery is of varied plumage, i.e. manifold, A. Supp. 329; τοῖς αὑτῶν π. ἁλίσκεσθαι to be shot with an arrow feathered from oneʼs own plumes, ‘hoist with oneʼs own petard’, Id. Fr. 139; ἀλλοτρίοις π. ἀγάλλεσθαι pride oneself on ‘borrowed plumes’, Luc. Pro Merc.Cond. 4; κείρευ πτερά ‘have your wings clipped’, Call. Epigr. 47.8.
      • 2 = πτέρυξ, birdʼs wing, freq. in pl., wings, Il. 11.454, Od. 2.151, etc. (sg., A. Fr. 304.4); οἶμον αἰθέρος ψαίρει πτεροῖς Id. Pr. 396; Παλλάδος ὑπὸ πτεροῖς ὄντας, metaph. from chickens under the henʼs wings, Id. Eu. 1001 (lyr.); τὰ τέκνʼ ἔχων ὑπὸ πτεροῖς E. Heracl. 10, etc.: as an emblem of speed, ὡσεὶ π. ἠὲ νόημα Od. 7.36; πόδα τιθεὶς ἴσον πτεροῖς E. IT 32; δοκεῖτε πηδᾶν τἀδικήματʼ εἰς θεοὺς πτεροῖσι; Id. Fr. 506; also τῷ δʼ εὖτε πτερὰ γίγνετο he got as it were wings, i.e. spirit, courage, Il. 19.386; νωμᾷ δʼ ἐν οἰωνοῖσι τοὐκείνης (sc. Ἀφροδίτης) πτερόν, ἐν θηρσίν, ἐν βροτοῖσιν, ἐν θεοῖς her uplifting influence, S. Fr. 941.11.
      • 3 wings of a bat, Hdt. 2.76; of insects, Arist. HA 532a25, PA 682b18, al.
    • II any winged creature, as the Sphinx, E. Ph. 806 (lyr.); a beetle, Ar. Pax 76.
      • 2 omen, πιστὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν π. S. OC 97.
    • III anything like wings or feathers: as
      • 1 oars, ἐρετμά, τά τε πτερὰ νηυσὶ πέλονται Od. 11.125; νηὸς πτερά Hes. Op. 628 (unless sails, cf. πτίλον III.2); ὅπῃ νεὼς στείλαιμʼ ἂν οὔριον π. E. Hel. 147; σκάφος ἀΐσσον πτεροῖσι Id. Tr. 1086 (lyr.): hence conversely, of birds, πτεροῖς ἐρέσσει Id. IT 289; πτερῶν εἰρεσίᾳ, of Hermes, Luc. Tim. 40.
      • 2 ἀέθλων πτερά, i.e. the crown of victory, which lifts the victor to heaven, Pi. O. 14.24, cf. P. 9.125.
      • 3 sg., wings of the wind, dub. in S. Fr. 23.3.
      • 4 fan or parasol, Com. Adesp. 1129.
      • 5 π. ἱέρακος a hawkʼs wing, worn by the ἱερογραμματεύς in Egypt, D.S. 1.87.
      • 6 feathered arrow, E. Hel. 76.
      • 7 ploughshare, Lyc. 1072.
      • 8 side-walls of Egyptian temples, Str. 17.1.28, Plu. Isid. 2.359a.
        • b battlements, Procop. Aed. 2.8.
        • c portcullis, or drawbridge, in gateways, Sch. E. Ph. 114.
      • 9 πτερὰ Θετταλικά were the fluttering corners of a χλαμύς (v. πτέρυξ II.4), Poll. 7.46.

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