Aristotle › Greek Lexicon › μέλος

μέλος

melos

limb

Appears 36 times across Aristotle's works.

Frequency by work

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Dictionary (LSJ)

μέλος, εος, τό, A. limb, in early writers always in pl., Il. 7.131, Pi. N. 1.47, etc. (κατὰ μέλος is corrupt for κατὰ μέρος in h.Merc. 419); μελέων ἔντοσθε within my bodily frame, A. Pers. 991 (lyr.), cf. Eu. 265 (lyr.); κατὰ μέλη (-εα) limb by limb, like μελεϊστί, Pi. O. 1.49, Hdt. 1.119; τὰ τοῦ σώματος μέλη καὶ μέρη Pl. Lg. 795e; μέλη ποιεῖν dismember, LXX 2 Ma. 1.16: later in sg., AP 9.141, Gal. UP 12.3,al.; ἡ κατὰ μέλος τομή Str. 2.1.30. 2. metaph., ἐσμὲν . . ἀλλήλων μέλη Ep.Rom. 12.5, cf. 1 Ep.Cor. 6.15. 3. features, form, οὐκέτʼ ἐγὼ . . γονέων μ. ὄψομαι BMus.Inscr. 1077 (Sudan). B. esp. musical member, phrase: hence, song, strain, first in h.Hom. 19.16 (pl.), of the nightingale (the Hom. word being μολπή), cf. Thgn. 761, etc.; μέλη βοῶν ἄναυλα S. Fr. 699; esp. of lyric poetry, τὸ Ἀρχιλόχου μ. Pi. O. 9.1; ἐν μέλεϊ ποιέειν to write in lyric strain, Hdt. 5.95, cf. 2.135; ἐν μέλει ἤ τινι ἄλλῳ μέτρῳ Pl. R. 607d, cf. D.H. Comp. 11; Ἀδμήτου μ. Cratin. 236; μέλη, τά, lyric poetry, choral songs, opp. Epic or Dramatic verse, Pl. R. 379a, 607a, al.; [μ.] ἐκ τριῶν συγκείμενον, λόγου τε καὶ ἁρμονίας καὶ ῥυθμοῦ ib.398d. b. lyric portion of the Comic παράβασις, Heph. Poëm. 8.2. 2. music to which a song is set, tune, Arist. Po. 1450a14; opp. ῥυθμός, μέτρον, Pl. Grg. 502c; opp. ῥυθμός, ῥῆμα, Id. Lg. 656c; Κρητικόν, Καρικόν, Ἰωνικὸν μ., Cratin. 222, Pl.Com. 69.12,14: metaph., ἐν μέλει properly, correctly, ἐν μ. φθέγγεσθαι Pl. Sph. 227d; παρὰ μέλος incorrectly, inopportunely, πὰρ μ. ἔρχομαι Pi. N. 7.69; παρὰ μ. φθέγξασθαι Pl. Phlb. 28b, Lg. 696d; παρὰ μέλος λαμπρύνεσθαι Arist. EN 1123a22, cf. EE 1233a39. 3. melody of an instrument, φόρμιγξ δʼ αὖ φθέγγοιθʼ ἱερὸν μ. ἠδὲ καὶ αὐλός Thgn. 761; αὐλῶν πάμφωνον μ. Pi. P. 12.19; πηκτίδων μέλη S. Fr. 241: generally, tone, μ. βοῆς E. El. 756. [In h.Merc. 502 θεὸς δʼ ὑπὸ καλὸν ἄεισεν must be read for θεὸς δʼ ὑπὸ μέλος ἄεισεν, and Ἕλλησιν δʼ ᾄδων μέλεα καὶ ἐλέγους is corrupt in Epigr. ap. Paus. 10.7.6.]

Key passages & sense analysis (Bonitz)

Index Aristotelicus. Hermann Bonitz's sense-by-sense analysis of μέλος — 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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