previous next

[71] ὑπερφιάλως ‘beyond measure.’ This is perhaps an example of the original sense of “ὑπερφίαλος”, viz. ‘overflowing the “φιάλη” or pan.’ That derivation has been rejected by modern scholars, but no other at all probable has been put forward. We may compare “ὑπέροπλος” ‘with excess of tackle,’ ‘over-rigged.’ Words of this kind begin by being colloquial metaphors; when they have made their way into general use the original metaphor is apt to be more or less forgotten.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: