Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon



"The list could surely go on, and there is nothing more wonderful than a list, instrument of wondrous hypotyposis."

- Umberto Eco.

"υποτύπωσις - 1. sketch, outline; (...) 2. model, pattern; (...) 3. a Rhet. figure by which a matter was vividly sketched in words, Quint.Int.9.20.40."

- Big Liddell, p. 1900.

The Bible of classical scholars (that is, with the exception of those whose sacred scripture is Lewis & Short) and the Tome of Eldritch Lore for many students of Classics. With over 80 editions and over 20.000 entries, it is THE Greek-English lexicon. Its three versions (of which two are abbreviated) are nicknamed, accordingly, Big Liddell (or Big Scott), Middle Liddell, and Little Liddell, two of these sobriquets producing nice merical effect not unfamiliar to the students of classic Greek (which apparently had been sung rather than spoken).

For whole generations it has been the key to understanding many texts which are Older Than Feudalism, such as Homer’s The Iliad, Plato’s Republic, or the Gospels. If it comes to literary meaning of the book, one of its authors (Henry George Liddell) was the father of Alice of Wonderland. (Judging from some conversations in Lewis Carroll's books - especially the one with Humpty Dumpty - in this case the knack for philology went in the family.)

A complete, freely accessible online version can be found here, as part of the Perseus Digital Library.


 * Acronym and Abbreviation Overload: the list of abbreviations takes no less than 33 pages.
 * Acronym Confusion: LSJ (Liddell-Scott-Jones) is also the abbreviation for a high school in London, for a scholarly journal, and for the website of Lansing Michigan, as well as the name of a Polish work agency.
 * Ancient Greece: every once in a while.
 * Doorstopper: pretty much.
 * Gentleman and a Scholar: after all, this was Victorian Britain.
 * Great Big Book of Everything Which Can Be Said In Ancient Greek.
 * Magnum Opus.
 * Mythical Motifs: quite a lot, from Γοργώ (gorgon) to φοίνιξ (phoenix).
 * Older Than Feudalism: all the entries.
 * Older Than Radio: the book itself.
 * Oxbridge: it has been made by the dean of Oxford, a relentless reformer of Christ Church.
 * Perfectly Cromulent Word: plenty of them, every one authentic and having been used by someone at least in one extant text.
 * Shown Their Work: the preface describes the process of preparing the dictionary - very impressive, as this was before the digital age, and everything had to be done without the help of databases, text editors, and DTP applications. The sole fact that it has been published nearly two hundred years ago (first edition is from 1819) and is used as the standard Greek-English dictionary by classical philologists means something.
 * Translation: "Yes": one of the many examples is εκεχείριον, which means 'travelling allowance for θεωροί who announce a sacred trust'.
 * Trope: τρόπος, o, (τρέπω) turn, direction, way, διορύχας τετραμμένας πάντα τ. Id. 1.189, cf. 199 : but, II. commonly, way, manner, fashion, guise', τρόπώ τω παρέοντι χρεώμενοι going on as we are, ib.97 ; (...) III. of persons, a way of life, habit, custom, Pi.N.I.29 ; (...) 2. a man's ways, habits, character, temper, οργην καί ρυθμόν καί τ. όστις αν η (v.1. όντιν έχει) Thgn.964 ; (...) IV. in Music, like αρμονία, a particular mode, Lydios t. Pi.O.14.17 ; but more generally, style, νεορίγαλος τ. ib. 3.4 ; (...) V. in speaking or writing, manner, style, ο τ. της λέξεως Pl.R.400d, cf. Isoc.15.45: esp. in Rhet. in pl.,, Trypho Trop. tit., Cic.Brut.17.69, Quint.Inst.8.6.1. VI. in Logic, mode or mood of a syllogism, Stoic.3.269, cf. 1.108, 2.83 : more generally, method of instruction or explanation, ο άνευ φθόγγων τ. Epicur.Ep.I p.32 U.; (...) VII. beam, Moschio ap.Ath.5.208c (so in Mod.Gr., cf. Glotta 11.249).
 * You Are the Translated Foreign Word: and you. And you. And you...