ἄσφαλτος

See also: άσφαλτος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Generally taken as deriving from ἀ- (a-, “not”) +‎ σφάλλω (sphállō, “to fall, cast down”), under the assumption that it denoted the material that protects walls from tumbling down. However, according to Beekes, the word is rather Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ás.pʰal.tos/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈas.pʰal.tos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈas.ɸal.tos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈas.fal.tos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈas.fal.tos/

Noun

ἄσφᾰλτος • (ásphăltos) f or m (genitive ἀσφᾰ́λτου); second declension

asphalt, bitumen

Declension

Second declension of ὁ / ἡ ἄσφᾰλτος; τοῦ / τῆς ἀσφᾰ́λτου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ / ἡ ἄσφᾰλτος ho / hē ásphăltos	τὼ ἀσφᾰ́λτω tṑ asphắltō	οἱ / αἱ ἄσφᾰλτοι hoi / hai ásphăltoi
Genitive	τοῦ / τῆς ἀσφᾰ́λτου toû / tês asphắltou	τοῖν ἀσφᾰ́λτοιν toîn asphắltoin	τῶν ἀσφᾰ́λτων tôn asphắltōn
Dative	τῷ / τῇ ἀσφᾰ́λτῳ tōî / tēî asphắltōi	τοῖν ἀσφᾰ́λτοιν toîn asphắltoin	τοῖς / ταῖς ἀσφᾰ́λτοις toîs / taîs asphắltois
Accusative	τὸν / τὴν ἄσφᾰλτον tòn / tḕn ásphălton	τὼ ἀσφᾰ́λτω tṑ asphắltō	τοὺς / τᾱ̀ς ἀσφᾰ́λτους toùs / tā̀s asphắltous
Vocative	ἄσφᾰλτε ásphălte	ἀσφᾰ́λτω asphắltō	ἄσφᾰλτοι ásphăltoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ἀσφαλτίζω (asphaltízō)
ἀσφάλτιον (aspháltion)
ἀσφαλτίτης (asphaltítēs)
ἀσφαλτόπισσα (asphaltópissa)
ἀσφαλτοφόρος (asphaltophóros)
ἀσφαλτόω (asphaltóō)
ἀσφαλτώδης (asphaltṓdēs)
ἀσφάλτωσις (aspháltōsis)

Descendants

→ Latin: asphaltum
- → Catalan: asfalt
- → English: asphalt
- → French: asphalte
  - → German: Asphalt
  - → Ottoman Turkish: آسفالت (asfalt)
    - Turkish: asfalt
    - → Laz: ასჶალთი (asfalti)
  - → Romanian: asfalt
  - → Russian: асфальт (asfalʹt), асфа́льтъ (asfálʹt) — pre-1918 spelling
    - → Armenian: ասֆալտ (asfalt)
    - → Georgian: ასფალტი (aspalṭi)
    - → Iranian Persian: آسْفالْت (âsfâlt)
    - → Mongolian: асфальт (asfalʹt)
    - → Tajik: асфалт (asfalt)
- → Italian: asfalto
- → Portuguese: asfalto
- → Spanish: asfalto

References

“ἄσφαλτος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἄσφαλτος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
ἄσφαλτος in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἄσφαλτος in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007), Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
ἄσφαλτος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
- bitumen idem, page 80.
Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN