previous next
πόθεν , Ion. κόθεν :
I. interrog. Adv. whence?
1. of Place, “εἰρώτα . . , τίς εἴη καὶ π. ἔλθοι” Od.15.423; “ποδαπὸς ὁ ξένος; π.;” A.Ch.657; “ποῖ δὴ καὶ π.;” Pl.Phdr.227a: c. gen., “τίς π. εἰς ἀνδρῶν;” Il.21.150, Od.1.170, al.; “κ. τῆς Φρυγίης ἥκων;” Hdt.1.35; “π. γῆς ἦλθες;” E.Ion258, etc.
2. of origin, π. γένος εὔχεται εἶναι from what stock he avows that he is by descent, Od.17.373; “τὴν . . τέχνην πῶς καὶ π. ἄν τις δύναιτο πορίσασθαι;” Pl.Phdr.269d; “π. ἄλλοθεν . .;” D.3.28: c. gen., “π. ποτὲ . . θνητῶν ἔφυσαν;” E.Supp.841.
3. in speaking, “π. ἄρξωμαι;” A.Ch.855 (anap.); “π. ἂν λάβοιμι ῥῆμα;” Ar.Pax 521, etc.
4. of the cause, whence? wherefore? “π. χοὰς ἔπεμψεν; ἐκ τίνος λόγου;” A.Ch.515; to express surprise or negation, π. γὰρ ἔσται βιοτά; i.e. οὐδαμόθεν, S.Ph.1159 (lyr.); “π. υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἐστιν;” Ev.Marc. 12.37; “πόθεν;” how can it be? impossible! nonsense! E.Ph.1620, Ar.V. 1145, Ra.1455; “σὺ δ᾽ ὁμέστιος θεοῖς; π.;” Id.Fr.655; “ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα: πόθεν; πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ” D.18.47, cf. 24.157, etc.; “π. γάρ;” E. Alc.781.
5. with Verbs of finding, taking, purchasing, etc., “π. ἂν πριαίμην ῥῖνα;” Ar.Pax21; “π. ἄν τις τοῦτο τὸ χρῖμα λάβοι;” X.Smp. 2.4; “π. πρᾷον . . ἦθος εὑρήσομεν;” Pl.R.375c, cf. Euthd.273e, al.; so “κάθησθε κλάοντες περὶ τῆς αὔριον π. φάγητε” Arr.Epict.1.9.19.
II. ποθέν , enclit. Adv. from some place or other, “εἴ π.” Il.9.380; “εἰ καί π. ἄλλοθεν ἔλθοι” Od.7.52, cf. 5.490; “φανεὶς . . π.” A.Pers.354; “ἦλθέ π. σωτήρ” Id.Ch.1073 (anap.); “ἐκ δρυός π. ἢ ἐκ πέτρας” Pl.R.544d; ἐκ βιβλίου π. ἀκούσας from some book or other, Id.Phdr.268c, cf. 244d; after ἐνθένδε, ἐντεῦθεν, ib.229b, 270a, etc.
Henry George Liddell. Robert Scott. A Greek-English Lexicon. revised and augmented throughout by. Sir Henry Stuart Jones. with the assistance of. Roderick McKenzie. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1940.

The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

hide Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
Search for in
How to enter text in Greek:
hide References (36 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (36):
    • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 1073
    • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 515
    • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 657
    • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 855
    • Aeschylus, Persians, 354
    • Aristophanes, Frogs, 1455
    • Aristophanes, Peace, 21
    • Aristophanes, Peace, 521
    • Aristophanes, Wasps, 1145
    • Demosthenes, Olynthiac 3, 28
    • Demosthenes, On the Crown, 47
    • Demosthenes, Against Timocrates, 157
    • Euripides, Alcestis, 781
    • Euripides, Ion, 258
    • Euripides, Phoenician Women, 1620
    • Euripides, Suppliants, 841
    • Herodotus, Histories, 1.35
    • Homer, Iliad, 21.150
    • Homer, Iliad, 9.380
    • Homer, Odyssey, 5.490
    • Homer, Odyssey, 7.52
    • Homer, Odyssey, 15.423
    • Homer, Odyssey, 1.170
    • New Testament, Mark, 12.37
    • Plato, Republic, 544d
    • Plato, Republic, 375c
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 227a
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 229b
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 268c
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 269d
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 244d
    • Plato, Phaedrus, 270a
    • Plato, Euthydemus, 273e
    • Xenophon, Symposium, 2.4
    • Homer, Odyssey, 17.373
    • Sophocles, Philoctetes, 1159
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: