βαλαύστιον

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• βαλώστιον (balṓstion)

Etymology

Related to Imperial Aramaic 𐡁𐡀𐡋𐡀𐡈 (bʾlʾṭ, “pomegranate shoot”), Classical Syriac ܒܠܳܨܳܐ (blāṣā, “pomegranate shoot”) and a Semitic borrowing maybe. However an explanation of the words will remain difficult; see Arabic رُمَّان (rummān) for another difficult pomegranate term.

Put by Beekes because of the variant “αυ/ω” as acquired via Pre-Greek together with βάλαρις (bálaris, “an unclear plant”), βαλλωτή (ballōtḗ, “black horehound”), βάλλις (bállis, “a plant with wonderful medicinal properties”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /βaˈlaɸs.ti.on/ → /vaˈlafs.ti.on/

• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /baˈlaʍs.ti.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /βaˈlaɸs.ti.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /vaˈlafs.ti.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /vaˈlafs.ti.on/

Noun

βαλαύστιον • (balaústion) n (genitive βαλαυστίου); second declension

1. flower of the wild pomegranate

   Synonym: κύτινος (kútinos)

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ βαλαύστιον; τοῦ βαλαυστίου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ βαλαύστιον tò balaústion	τὼ βαλαυστίω tṑ balaustíō	τᾰ̀ βαλαύστιᾰ tà balaústia
Genitive	τοῦ βαλαυστίου toû balaustíou	τοῖν βαλαυστίοιν toîn balaustíoin	τῶν βαλαυστίων tôn balaustíōn
Dative	τῷ βαλαυστίῳ tôi balaustíōi	τοῖν βαλαυστίοιν toîn balaustíoin	τοῖς βαλαυστίοις toîs balaustíois
Accusative	τὸ βαλαύστιον tò balaústion	τὼ βαλαυστίω tṑ balaustíō	τᾰ̀ βαλαύστιᾰ tà balaústia
Vocative	βαλαύστιον balaústion	βαλαυστίω balaustíō	βαλαύστιᾰ balaústia
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• βαλαυστιουργός (balaustiourgós)
• βαλαύστρινος (balaústrinos)

 

Descendants

• Latin: balaustium
  • → Italian: balaustro

Further reading

• “βαλαύστιον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• βαλαύστιον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• βαλαύστιον 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