1.any sharp point:
1.a horsegoad, Lat. stimulus, Il., etc.: also an ox-goad, Plat.; —proverb., πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν, v. λακτίζω 2.
b.metaph. a goad, spur, incentive, Aesch., Eur.
2.an instrument of torture, Hdt.:—metaph. in pl. tortures, pangs, Soph.
3.the sting of bees and wasps, Ar.; of a scorpion, Dem.; metaph. of the impression produced by Socrates, ὥσπερ μέλιττα τὸ κ. ἐγκαταλιπών Plat.
4.the stationary point of a pair of compasses, the centre of a circle, id=Plat.