Ancient Greek

Verb

σῠλλᾰμβᾰ́νω • ‎(sullambánō)

1. I collect, gather; I rally
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 5.46

     συλλαβὼν δὲ οὗτος τῆς στρατιῆς

     rallying the rest of his army

   1. I take with me, carry off
      • 497 BCE – 405 BCE, Sophocles, Women of Trachis 1153

        παίδων δὲ τοὺς μὲν ξυλλαβοῦσ᾽ αὐτὴ τρέφει

        Some of your children she has taken with her

   2. I put together, close, enclose
      • 428 BCE – 347 BCE, Plato, Phaedrus 118.a

        ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Κρίτων συνέλαβε τὸ στόμα καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς.

        And Crito, when he saw it, closed his mouth and eyes.

      1. I combine in pronunciation
         • 424 BCE, Aristophanes, The Knights 21

           λέγε δὴ μόλωμεν ξυνεχὲς ὡδὶ ξυλλαβών.

           Well, then! Say "Let us bolt," like this, as one word.

   3. I comprise
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.82

        ἑνὶ δὲ ἔπεϊ πάντα συλλαβόντα εἰπεῖν

        But, to conclude the whole matter in one word,

2. I take hold of, seize
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 6.26

     συλλαμβάνοντι τὰς Ἰώνων ὁλκάδας ἐκπλεούσας ἐκ τοῦ Πόντου

     seizing the Ionian merchant ships as they sailed out of the Euxine

   1. I apprehend, arrest
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 2.121.e

        ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ἀπηγήσηται τὰ περὶ τὸν φῶρα γεγενημένα, τοῦτον συλλαμβάνειν καὶ μὴ ἀπιέναι ἔξω.

        whoever told her the story of the thief, she was to seize and not let get out

      • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.20

        βουλόμενοι δὲ πρὶν ξυλληφθῆναι δράσαντές τι

        but, wishing to do something before they were seized

   2. I comprehend
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.91

        οὐ συλλαβὼν δὲ τὸ ῥηθὲν

        But, not comprehending what was said

3. I receive at the same time
   • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 1.32

     τὰ πάντα μέν νυν ταῦτα συλλαβεῖν ἄνθρωπον ἐόντα ἀδύνατον ἐστί

     It is impossible for one who is only human to obtain all these things at the same time

4. I conceive a child
   • 460 BCE – 370 BCE, Hippocrates, Aphorisms 5.46

     ὁκόσαι παρὰ φύσιν παχεῖαι ἐοῦσαι μὴ ξυλλαμβάνουσιν ἐν γαστρὶ

     Such women are immoderately fat, and cannot conceive

5. I take with (e.g. as an assistant)
   • 416 BCE, Euripides, Herakles 833

     ἀλλ᾽ εἶ᾽, ἄτεγκτον συλλαβοῦσα καρδίαν

     But come, taking with you a hardened heart

6. (with dative of person) I assist
   • 391 BCE, Aristophanes, Assemblywomen 861

     τὰ δυνατὰ γὰρ δεῖ τῇ πόλει ξυλλαμβάνειν τοὺς εὖ φρονοῦντας.

     Every sensible man must assist the state.

   • 425 BCE, Aristophanes, Lysistrata 540

     ἐν τῷ μέρει χἠμεῖς τι ταῖς φίλαισι συλλάβωμεν.

     In our comradely venture we each take our part.

   1. (middle voice, with genitive of object) I take part in
      • 460 BCE – 420 BCE, Herodotus, Histories 3.49

        οἳ δὲ οὐκ ἂν συνελάβοντο τοῦ στρατεύματος τοῦ ἐπὶ Σάμον ταύτης εἵνεκεν τῆς αἰτίης

        they would not have taken part in the expedition against Samos for this reason.

Inflection

Derived terms

• ἐπῐσῠλλᾰμβᾰ́νω ‎(episullambánō)
• προσσῠλλᾰμβᾰ́νω ‎(prossullambánō)

Related terms

References

• συλλαμβάνω in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• «συλλαμβάνω» in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• “G4815”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979

Greek

Etymology

Ancient Greek συλλαμβάνω ‎(sullambánō).

Verb

συλλαμβάνω • ‎(syllamváno) ‎(simple past συνέλαβα, passive form συλλαμβάνομαι)

1. (law) arrest (take into custody)
2. conceive
   1. develop an idea
   2. understand
   3. (intransitive) become pregnant
3. receive, accept into the mind, understand
4. (telecommunications) detect signals

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Related terms

• συλλαβή ‎(syllaví)
• σύλληψη ‎(sýllipsi)