Aristotle Greek Lexicon ἐπιλαμβάνω

ἐπιλαμβάνω

epilambano

take

Appears 15 times across Aristotle's works.

Frequency by work

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Dictionary (LSJ)

ἐπιλαμβάνω, A. take or get besides, ἐπὶ τοῖς πεντήκοντα ταλάντοις ἑκατόν Arist. Pol. 1259a28: c. gen. partit., ἐ. τοῦ χρόνου take a little more time, M.Ant. 1.17; τῆς ἀρχῆς Paus. 9.14.5. 2. simply, take, receive, PEleph. 10.1 (iii B.C.), OGI 179.18 (Egypt, i B.C.), etc. II. lay hold of, seize, attack, as a disease, Hdt. 8.115, Hp. Aph. 6.51, Th. 2.51; of an enemy, Luc. Nav. 36:—Pass., ἐπείληπται νόσῳ S. Ant. 732; τὴν αἴσθησιν ἐπιληφθείς becoming unconscious, Plu. Flam. 6; ἐπελήφθη had an epileptic fit, Gal. 11.859. b. of events, overtake, surprise, μὴ . . χειμὼν τὴν φυλακὴν ἐπιλάβοι Th. 4.27; νυκτὸς ἐπιλαβούσης τὸ ἔργον ib. 96; ταχὺ ἐπιλαβὸν γῆρας Pl. Epin. 974a: impers., ἐπιλαμβάνει, c. acc. et inf., it befalls one that . . , Paus. 6.22.4, 7.21.1. 2. attain to, come within reach of, reach, X. An. 6.5.6; ἔτη ὀκτὼ ἐ. πολέμου live over eight years, Th. 4.133; ἡμέρας ἑπτακαίδεκα τῆς ἑβδόμης ὑπατείας Plu. Mar. 46: c. gen. partit., ἐ. τετάρτου μηνός arrive at, of the foetus, Arist. HA 583b22 (but ἐ. τοῦ ἑνδεκάτου μηνός, of the mother, ib.584a37); ὥστε καὶ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἐ. Thphr. HP 1.9.6. 3. seize, stop, esp. by pressure, τὴν ῥῖνα Ar. Pl. 703; ἐ. τὸ κλύσμα τῆς ὀπίσω ὁδοῦ Hdt. 2.87; . τὸ ὕδωρ stop the water-clock in court, Lys. 23.4, Is. 3.76; τὸν αὐλίσκον Arist. Ath. 67.3, cf. Pr. 866b13, Plb. 10.44.12; τὸ στόμα τοῖς ἐπικαλύμμασιν Arist. HA 527b21. 4. occupy space, μηδὲν τῶν τῆς πόλεως . . οἰκοδομήμασι ἐ. Pl. Lg. 779c (Med.); πλείω τόπον Arist. Cael. 305b19; πλατύτερον τόπον Plu. Cat.Ma. 5: metaph., πολὺν χῶρον ἐ. get over much ground, traverse it rapidly, Theoc. 13.65. 5. c. gen., undertake, τῆς κινήσεως, τῆς νήξεως, Ael. NA 5.18, 13.19. 6. c. dat., assist, App. BC 4.96 (nisi leg. <συν>επιλ.). 7. intr., succeed, follow, Arist. Pr. 860a7. 8. of food or drink, take extra, οἰνάριον Plu. Cat.Ma. 1; take after other food, Dsc. 2.112. III. Med. (with pf. ἐπείλημμαι Pl. Cra. 396d, D. 3.27), hold oneself on by, lay hold of, c. gen., τῶν νεῶν Hdt. 6.113, Th. 4.14, etc.; τῶν ἀφλάστων νεός Hdt. 6.114; τῶν ἐπισπαστήρων ib.91; τῆς ἴτυος X. An. 4.7.12; τῶν ἁμαξῶν Plu. Oth. 3; ὅτου ἐπιλάβοιτο τὰ δρέπανα whomsoever the scythes caught, X. Cyr. 7.1.31; ἐπιλαμβάνεταί μου τῆς χειρὸς τῇ δεξιᾷ Pl. Prt. 335c; ἐπιλαβόμενός [τινος] τῇ χειρί D. 21.60; τῶν τριχῶν by the hair, Aeschin. 3.150; μὴ ʼπιλαμβάνου hold me not! E. Ph. 896. 2. attack. τινός X. HG 4.2.22; esp. with words, Pl. Phdr. 236b; of things, τῆς θερμασίας πόρων -ομένης Epieur.Ep. 2p.52U.; of diseases, Luc. Nigr. 29. 3. make a seizure of, arrest, τῶν παίδων D. 33.9; seize goods in default of payment, Id. 21.133. b. lay hands on in assertion of a claim, Pl. Lg. 954c, POxy. 1707.15 (iii A.D.), etc. 4. lay hold of, get, obtain, προστάτεω a chief, Hdt. 1.127; προφάσιος ἔς τινα Id. 3.36, cf. 6.49; δυνάμιος Id. 9.09; καιροῦ Ar. Lys. 596; ἐξουσίας, γαλήνης, Pl. R. 360d, Plt. 273a, cf. PTeb. 48.20 (ii B.C.), etc.; ἐ. λογισμῷ, Lat. ratione assequi, Pl. Phd. 79a. 5. of Place, reach, δασέος Arist. HA 629b15; τῶν ὀρῶν Plu. Ant. 41: metaph., of a state or condition, ἐρημίας ἐπειλημμένοι having found an empty field, i.e. an absence of all competitors, D. 3.27, cf. Arist. Pol. 1305b16. 6. attempt, πράξεων μεγάλων Plu. Mar. 7. b. c. inf., undertake, γεωργεῖν IG 7.2446 (Thebes). 7. touch on, τινός Pl. R. 449d. 8. take up, interrupt in speaking, Id. Grg. 506b, Smp. 214e; object to, τοῦ ψηφίσματος X. HG 2.1.32; ἐ. ὅτι . . object that . . , Pl. R. 490c. 9. rarely c. acc., seize, τὰς Ἀθήνας (leg. λήψονται) Lycurg. 84.

Key passages & sense analysis (Bonitz)

Index Aristotelicus. Hermann Bonitz's sense-by-sense analysis of ἐπιλαμβάνω — with the passages he singles out as decisive for each meaning — will appear here. That curated, interpretive selection is the layer LSJ and a raw concordance don't provide. Digitisation in progress; this entry is not yet available.
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