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πάλαι

I.long ago, in olden time, in days of yore, in time gone by Il., Soph., etc.; πάλαι ποτέ once upon a time, Ar.:—often used with a pres. in the sense of a perf., ὁρῶ πάλαι, Lat. dudum video, I have long seen, Soph.; πάλαι ποτ᾽ ὄντες ye who have long ago been, Ar.;—also with the Art., τὸ πάλαι Hdt., Thuc., etc.
2.πάλαι is often used like an adj. with the Art. and a Noun, οἱ πάλαι φῶτες men of old, Pind.; Κάδμου τοῦ πάλαι Soph.; τὰ π. Dem.
II.of time just past, ἠμὲν πάλαι ἠδ᾽ ἔτι καὶ νῦν Il.: hence πάλαι comes to mean not long ago, but now, just now, much like ἄρτι, Aesch., Plat.

Liddell and Scott. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1889.

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