1. of Place, back, backwards (the usual sense in early Ep.), mostly joined with Verbs of going, coming, etc.; “π. χώρει” Hdt.5.72; π. ἐλεύσεται, κατελθεῖν, ἐπανέλθωμεν, A.Pr.854, S.OC601, Pl.Cra.438a, etc.; “κέλευθον ἥνπερ ἦλθες ἐγκόνει π.” A.Pr.962; “δίκα καὶ πάντα π. στρέφεται” E.Med.412 (lyr.); δεῦρο σωθήσῃ π. Id.Ph.725, cf. 1400; δόμεναι π. give back, restore, Il.1.116, etc.; “π. ἀποδοῦναι” And.2.23; π. ἀγκαλέσαι to call back, A.Ag.1021 (lyr.): less freq. c. gen., π. τράπεθ᾽ υἷος ἑοῖο she turned back from her son, Il.18.138; “δόρυ Ἀχιλλῆος π. ἔτραπεν” 20.439, cf. Od.7.143: coupled with other Advbs., “π. αὖτις ἔβαινον νηὸς ἐπὶ γλαφυρῆς” 14.356, cf. Pi.O.1.65; αὖ π. Od.13.125; “ἂψ π.” Il.18.280; “π. εἶσιν ὀπίσσω” Od.11.149; “π. φέρεσθαι ἐξοπίσω” Hes.Th. 181; ἄψορρον π. S.El.53; π. οἴκαδε, π. οἴκαδ᾽ αὖ, Ar.Lys.792, Ra.1486; “π. αὖ” Pl.Prt.318e, etc.: with the Art., “ἡ π. ὁδός” E.Or.125.
2. to express contradiction, π. ἐρέει gainsay, Il.9.56; π. ὅ γε λάζετο μῦθον took back his word, unsaid it, 4.357; opp. ἀληθέα εἰπεῖν, Od.13.254; μηδέ τῳ δόξῃ π. let no one think contrariwise, A.Th.1045: in Prose, contrariwise, Pl.Grg.482d; “π. αὖ” Id.R.507b; αὖ . . π. Id.Ap.27d: in this sense sts. c. gen., τὸ π. νεότατος youth's opposite, Pi.O.10(11).87; χρόνου τὸ π. the change of time, E.HF777(lyr.); cf. ἔμπαλιν.
II. of Time, again, once more, rare in Hom., Il.2.276, cf. S.OT1166, X. Mem.1.6.11, etc.: freq. coupled with αὖ, αὖθις (q.v.); “π. ἐξ ἀρχῆς” Ar.Pax997, etc.; π. καὶ π. Str.17.1.3, Plu.2.565d, Ael.VH1.4; ἔγχει καὶ π. εἰπέ, π. π. "Ἡλιοδώρας" AP5.135(Mel.): both senses (I and II) are appropriate in Od.16.456, Pl.Prt.322b, etc.
III. in turn, S.El.371, Ar.Ach.342, Call.Dian.87, etc.; “π. ὁ Κῦρος ἠρώτα” X.An. 1.6.7; “π. ἀπαιτῶ” Pl.R.612d; again, πρῶτον μέν . . ἔπειτα π. Arist.Pol. 1289b29, etc. (In compos. πάλιν sts. means doubly, as in παλιμμήκης, παλίνσκιος.)