A.“σφα^λῶ” Th.7.67: aor. 1 ἔσφηλα, Ep. “σφῆλα” Od.17.464, Dor. “ἔσφα_λα” Pi.P.8.15: but the intrans. “ἔσφαλεν” LXX Jb.21.10, Si.13.22, Am.5.2, opt. σφάλαι ib.Jb. 18.7, are prob. forms of a Hellenistic aor. 1 Ε῎σφα^λα (presupposing Ε῎σφα^λον as ἦλθα presupposes ἦλθον, etc.): pf. “ἔσφαλκα” Plb.8.9.2:— Pass., fut. “σφα^λήσομαι” S.Tr.719,1113, Th.3.14, etc.; freq. in med. form σφα^λοῦμαι, S.Fr.588, X.Smp.2.26: aor. ἐσφάλην [α^] Alc.Supp. 27.13 (prob.), Hdt.4.140, Th.8.24, etc.; ἐσφάλθην only in Gal.5.62: pf. “ἔσφαλμαι” E.Andr.896, Pl.Cra.436c: plpf. “ἔσφαλτο” Th.7.47:— make to fall, overthrow, properly by tripping up, trip up in wrestling, “οὔτ᾽ Ὀδυσεὺς δύνατο σφῆλαι οὔδει τε πελάσσαι” Il.23.719; “οὐδ᾽ ἄρα μιν σφῆλεν βέλος” Od.17.464; “Ἕκτορα” Pi.O.2.81; “ἀλλάλους σφάλλοντι παλαίμασι” Theoc.24.112; [πώλους] E.Hipp.1232; “γόνυ τινός” Id.Heracl.128; “τινὰ γνύξ” A.R.3.1310; “τινὰ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν” D.S.14.23; τὸ μὴ ὑπερπίνειν ἧττον ἂν καὶ σώματα καὶ γνώμας ς. X.Cyr.8.8.10, cf. 1.3.10 (Pass.); ς. ναῦς throw them on their beam-ends, Plu.Them.14, cf. Polyaen.3.11.13; [ἵπποι] ἔσφηλαν (gnomic aor.) τὸν ἀναβάτην throw him, X.Eq.3.9:—Pass., to be tripped up, “Φρυνίχου παλαίσμασιν” Ar. Ra.689 (troch.); of a drunken man, σφαλλόμενος προσέρχεται reeling, staggering, Id.V.1324, cf. Heraclit. 117; “ς. ὑπὸ οἴνου” X.Lac.5.7, cf. AP11.26 (Marc. Arg.); “ς. ἵππος” Plu.Phil.18; ς. [ἱππεύς] is thrown, X. Eq.7.7.
II. generally, cause to fall, overthrow, “βία καὶ μεγάλαυχον ἔσφαλεν” Pi.P.8.15; “ἀνθρώπων κακῶν ὁμιλίαι ς. τινά” Hdt.7.16.“ά; σμικροὶ λόγοι ἔσφηλαν ἤδη καὶ κατώρθωσαν βροτούς” S.El.416; “σφάλλω . . ὅσοι φρονοῦσιν εἰς ἡμᾶς μέγα” E.Hipp.6; [“ὀργὴ] πλεῖστα . . ς. βροτούς” Id.Fr.31; ἡ καταφρόνησις, ἡ ἀπειρία ς. τινά, Th.1.122, 2.87: abs., “ἀτρεκεῖς ἐπιτηδεύσεις φασὶ σφάλλειν πλέον ἢ τέρπειν” E.Hipp.262 (anap.): also of things, “ἁμαρτίαι ς. τὴν σωτηρίαν” S.Fr.192; “δειναὶ τύχαι ς. δόμους” E.Med.198 (anap.); “ς. τὰς πόλεις” Th.3.37, etc.; “ς. δίκαν” E.Andr.780 (lyr.); σφάλλων, name of a throw of the dice, Eub.57.5 (s. v.l.):—Pass., to be overthrown, fall, esp. of persons falling from high fortunes, “σφαλεὶς γὰρ οὐδεὶς εὖ βεβουλεῦσθαι δοκεῖ” Chaerem. 26, cf. S.Tr.297,719, E.Fr.262.2, etc.; ἢν σφαλῇ [ἡ Ἑλλάς] Hdt.7.168; ἢν ἄρα τι σφαλλώμεθα, opp. κατορθοῦν, Th.1.140, cf. Ar. Ra.736 (troch.), Pl.351; “σφαλλομένους ἐπανορθῶν” X.Mem.2.4.6; “ταῖς τύχαις σφάλλεσθαι” Th.2.87, cf. 43; ὑπὸ νόσων, ἐρώτων, μέθης ἐσφαλμένος, Pl.R.396d; ὑπὸ χρόνων τι ς. suffer from length of time, Id.Lg.769c: c. dat. modi, “σφάλλεσθαι ἀξιόχρεῳ δυνάμει” Th.6.10; “τοῖς ἀγῶσι” Id.7.61; “τοῖς ὅλοις” Plb.1.43.8: with a Prep., “ἐν τῇ μάχῃ” X. HG7.2.2, cf. Hdt.7.50; “τι ἐν τοῖς λόγοις” Pl.Grg.461d; “περί τι” Id.R. 451a; “περί τινος” Plu.2.164c: with neut. Adj., “σφάλλεσθαι ἓν μέγα” Pl.Lg.648e; ἐν τοῖς δικασταῖς, κοὐκ ἐμοί, τόδ᾽ ἐσφάλη this mishap took place by means of . . , S.Aj.1136; οὔ τι μὴ σφαλῶ γ᾽ ἐν σοί I shall not fail in thy business, Id.Tr.621.
III. baffle, balk, frustrate, of an oracle, Hdt.7.142; “θεὰ ἤδη μ᾽ . . ἔσφηλεν” S.Aj.452, cf. E.Alc.34 (anap.), Andr.223; ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ τὴν πόλιν ς. Aeschin.3.125:— Pass., err, go wrong, be mistaken, “κατὰ γνώμην” Hdt.7.52: abs., S.El. 1481, E.IA1541, etc.; μῶν ἐσφάλμεθ᾽; am I mistaken? Id.Andr.896; “ἡ ψυχὴ πολλὰ σφάλλεται” Isoc.1.32; “γνώμῃ σφαλέντες” Th.4.18; διανοίᾳ ς. Pl.Sph.229c; so ς. τὴν γνώμην, τὸν λογισμόν, Clearch.23, Plu. Sull.15: c. inf., οὐκ ἂν σφαλείη . . ἑλέσθαι be led astray into choosing, Id.2.711b.
2. Pass. also, c. gen. rei, to be balked of or foiled in a thing, ἦ καὶ πατήρ τι σφάλλεται βουλευμάτων; A.Eu.717; γάμων, δόξης, τύχης, E.Or.1078, Med.1010, Ph.758; “τῆς δόξης” Th.4.85; “τοῦ αὐχήματος” Id.7.66, cf. 5.110; “οὐκ ἔσφαλται τῆς ἀληθείας” Pl.Cra.436c; “τῶν πραγμάτων ᾗ ἔχει” Id.Hp.Mi.372b; ἀνδρός lose him, S.Tr.1113; “τοῦ παντός” Plu.Brut.20:—σφάλλειν τινὰ ἀπ᾽ ἐλπίδος cast him down from his hope, Luc.Dem.Enc.29.