• λάζομαι(lázomai) —Homeric
• λαββάνω(labbánō)

FromProto-Hellenic*hlagʷ-, probably from aProto-Indo-European*(s)leh₂gʷ-(“to take, grasp”), with cognates includingOld Englishlæċċan (Englishlatch) and possiblySanskritलग्(lag,“to be attached”). This etymology is supported by the formλͱαβων(lhabōn,aorist participle) found in an inscription in Corfu indicating initial voiceless/l̥/, which would have developed from a Proto-Indo-European*sl- cluster. Also seeλάζομαι(lázomai) andλάφυρον(láphuron).^[1]

The present stemλαμβάνω(lambánō) has zero-grade of the PIE root withnasal infix and suffix, likeλανθάνω(lanthánō,“do secretly”) andτυγχάνω(tunkhánō,“happen”). The second aoristἔλᾰβον(élăbon) haszero-grade and no further modifications, likeἔλαθον(élathon) andἔτυχον(étukhon). The forms with eta, such as futureλήψομαι(lḗpsomai), havee-grade, likeλήσω(lḗsō) andτεύξομαι(teúxomai). The e-grade perfectεἴληφα(eílēpha) derives fromreduplication of the original stem in*sl- (*sesl- >*εἱλ-(*heil-) regularly followed by unexpected loss of aspiration). The change fromβ(b) toφ(ph) is regular.

λᾰμβᾰ́νω• (lămbắnō)

1. totake
   1. to take hold of,grasp,seize
      • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Odyssey6.81:

        ἡ δ’ἔλαβεν μάστιγα καὶ ἡνία σιγαλόεντα

        hē d’élaben mástiga kaì hēnía sigalóenta

        and shetook the whip and bright reins

      • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Iliad21.286:

        χειρὶ δὲ χεῖραλαβόντες

        kheirì dè kheîralabóntes

        clasping his hand in theirs

      1. to take by force,plunder
         • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Iliad5.273:

           εἰ τούτω κελάβοιμεν, ἀροίμεθά κε κλέος ἐσθλόν.

           ei toútō keláboimen, aroímethá ke kléos esthlón.

           Could we buttake these twain, we should win us goodly renown.

      2. toexact (punishment)
         • 445BCE – 380BCE,Lysias,On the Murder of Eratosthenes29:

           καὶ ταύτηνἔλαβον τὴν δίκην

           kaì taútēnélabon tḕn díkēn

           andI exacted that punishment

   2. (of emotions) to seize
      • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Iliad1.387:

        Ἀτρεΐωνα δ’ ἔπειτα χόλοςλάβεν

        Atreḯōna d’ épeita khólosláben

        thereafter angerseized the son of Atreus

      1. (of a god) topossess
         • 460BCE – 420BCE,Herodotus,Histories4.79.4:

           ὅτι βακχεύομεν καὶ ἡμέας ὁ θεὸςλαμβάνει

           hóti bakkheúomen kaì hēméas ho theòslambánei

           because we play the Bacchant and the godpossesses us

      2. (of darkness, etc.) tocover
         • 472BCE,Aeschylus,The Persians365:

           κνέφας δὲ τέμενος αἰθέροςλάβῃ

           knéphas dè témenos aithéroslábēi

           and darknesshad covered the region of the sky

   3. tocatch,overtake
      • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Iliad5.159:

        ἔνθ’ υἷας Πριάμοιο δύωλάβε

        énth’ huîas Priámoio dúōlábe

        Thentook he two sons of Priam

   4. to catch,discover,detect
      • 460BCE – 420BCE,Herodotus,Histories2.89.2:

        λαμφθῆναι γὰρ τινὰ φασὶ μισγόμενον νεκρῷ προσφάτῳ γυναικός

        lamphthênai gàr tinà phasì misgómenon nekrōî prosphátōi gunaikós

        For it is said that onewas caught having intercourse with the fresh corpse of a woman

   5. tobind (under oath)
      • 429BCE,Sophocles,Oedipus Rex276:

        ὥσπερ μ’ ἀραῖονἔλαβες, ὧδ’, ἄναξ, ἐρῶ.

        hṓsper m’ araîonélabes, hôd’, ánax, erô.

        Asyou have bound me under oath, my king, I will speak.

   6. tokeep
      • 460BCE – 420BCE,Herodotus,Histories7.42.2:

        τὴν Ἴδην δὲλαβὼν ἐς ἀριστερὴν χεῖρα

        tḕn Ídēn dèlabṑn es aristerḕn kheîra

        keeping Ida on the left

   7. totake (food or drugs)
      • Diocl.,Fr. 121:

        τὸν σικυόν φησι μετὰ σιτίων ἐν πρώτοιςλαμβανόμενον ἐνοχλεῖν

        tòn sikuón phēsi metà sitíōn en prṓtoislambanómenon enokhleîn

        [he] says that cucumber, ifit is taken with the sium in the first course, makes the eater uncomfortable

   8. toperceive,understand
      • 460BCE – 420BCE,Herodotus,Histories3.41.1:

        ταῦτα ἐπιλεξάμενος […] καὶ νόῳλαβὼν ὥς οἱ εὖ ὑπετίθετο Ἄμασις

        taûta epilexámenos[…] kaì nóōilabṑn hṓs hoi eû hupetítheto Ámasis

        reading this, andperceiving that Amasis' advice was good

      • 460BCE – 420BCE,Herodotus,Histories7.142.3:

        οἱ γὰρ χρησμολόγοι ταύτῃ ταῦταἐλάμβανον

        hoi gàr khrēsmológoi taútēi taûtaelámbanon

        for the readers of oraclestook the versesto mean [that] […]

      1. (logic) toassume, take as granted
         • 384BCE – 322BCE,Aristotle,Prior Analytics46b.6
   9. toundertake
      • 460BCE – 420BCE,Herodotus,Histories3.71.3:

        […] ἐπιχείρησιν ταύτην μὴ οὕτω συντάχυνε ἀβούλως, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ τὸ σωφρονέστερον αὐτὴνλάμβανε

        […] epikheírēsin taútēn mḕ hoútō suntákhune aboúlōs, all’ epì tò sōphronésteron autḕnlámbane

        don not hurry this undertaking without thinking, buttake it up more prudently

2. toget
   • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Iliad6.427:

     ἂψ ὅ γε τὴν ἀπέλυσελαβὼν ἀπερείσι’ ἄποινα

     àps hó ge tḕn apéluselabṑn apereísi’ ápoina

     but thereafter set her free, when hehad received ransom past counting

   • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Iliad23.275:

     ἦ τ’ ἂν ἐγὼ τὰ πρῶταλαβὼν

     ê t’ àn egṑ tà prôtalabṑn

     surely it were that Ishould win the first prize

   • 429BCE,Sophocles,Oedipus Rex:

     τίς οὗτος ἔσται, τίς παραρρίψει, τέκνα, τοιαῦτ’ ὀνείδηλαμβάνων

     tís hoûtos éstai, tís pararrhípsei, tékna, toiaût’ oneídēlambánōn

     who shall be the man, my daughters, to risksuffering reproach […]

     1. I receive hospitably
        • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Odyssey7.255:

          ἥ μελαβοῦσα ἐνδυκέως ἐφίλει

          hḗ melaboûsa endukéōs ephílei

          Shetook me to her home with kindly welcome

     2. I receive in marriage
        • 460BCE – 420BCE,Herodotus,Histories9.108.1:

          δοκέων αὐτὴν μᾶλλονλάμψεσθαι ἢν ταῦτα ποιήσῃ

          dokéōn autḕn mâllonlámpsesthai ḕn taûta poiḗsēi

          for he thought that by doing so he would be most likelyto win her

     3. Iconceive
        • 460BCE – 370BCE,Hippocrates of Kos,Prorrhetics 2.24
   1. toadmit
      • 522BCE – 443BCE,Pindar,Olympian Ode1.81:

        ὁ μέγας δὲ κίνδυνος ἄναλκιν οὐ φῶταλαμβάνει.

        ho mégas dè kíndunos ánalkin ou phôtalambánei.

        Great danger does notadmit of a coward.

   2. (of emotions)
      • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Odyssey10.461:

        εἰς ὅ κεν αὖτις θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιλάβητε

        eis hó ken aûtis thumòn enì stḗthessilábēte

        untilyou once againtake heart

      • 406BCE,Sophocles,Oedipus at Colonus729:

        ὁρῶ τιν’ ὑμᾶς ὀμμάτωνεἰληφότας φόβον νεώρη τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπεισόδου

        horô tin’ humâs ommátōneilēphótas phóbon neṓrē tês emês epeisódou

        I see from your eyes thatyou feel a sudden fear at my coming

3. (middle voice) to take hold of
   • 800BCE – 600BCE,Homer,Odyssey5.325:

     ἀλλὰ μεθορμηθεὶς ἐνὶ κύμασινἐλλάβετ’ αὐτῆς

     allà methormētheìs enì kúmasinellábet’ autês

     but sprang after [his raft] amid the waves, andtook hold of it

   1. to lay hands upon
   2. to findfault with,censure
      • 428BCE – 347BCE,Plato,Laws637c
      • 170CE – 250CE,Philostratus,Life of Apollonius of Tyana 4.22
   3. to check oneself
      • 200CE – 400CE,Heliodorus of Emesa,Aethiopica 2.24

Along with a few others (ἐλθέ(elthé),ἰδέ(idé),εὑρέ(heuré),εἰπέ(eipé)), the aorist imperative has an irregular accent:λαβέ(labé) and not**λάβε. This is not the case in compounds, however.

• λαβίς(labís)
• λάφυρα(láphura)

• → Greek:λαμβάνω(lamváno)
• Greek:λαβαίνω(lavaíno)

• “λαμβάνω”, inLiddell & Scott (1940),A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “λαμβάνω”, inLiddell & Scott (1889),An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “λαμβάνω”, inAutenrieth, Georg (1891),A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• λαμβάνω inBailly, Anatole (1935),Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001),A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• λαμβάνω inCunliffe, Richard J. (1924),A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published1963
• “λαμβάνω”, inSlater, William J. (1969),Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G2983 inStrong, James (1979),Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• λαμβάνω inTrapp, 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
• λαμβάνω, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese),University of Chicago, since 2011

• λαβαίνω(lavaíno)(colloquial, not common)

Learned borrowing fromAncient Greekλαμβάνω(lambánō).Doublet ofλαβαίνω(lavaíno).

• IPA^(key): [laɱˈva.no]
• Hyphenation:λαμ‧βά‧νω

λαμβάνω• (lamváno) (pastέλαβα,passiveλαμβάνομαι,p‑pastλήφθηκα/ελήφθην,pppειλημμένος)

1. (formal) toget,receive

   Η τηλεόρασή μου δενλαμβάνει σήμα πολύ καλά. ―I tileórasí mou denlamvánei síma polý kalá. ―My tv set does notreceive a signal very well.

2. totake
3. (figuratively) tounderstand,get

• (get):παίρνω(paírno)

• Ancient Greek terms inherited from Proto-Hellenic
• Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Hellenic
• Ancient Greek terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
• Ancient Greek 3-syllable words
• Ancient Greek terms with IPA pronunciation
• Ancient Greek lemmas
• Ancient Greek verbs
• Ancient Greek paroxytone terms
• Ancient Greek terms with quotations
• grc:Logic
• Greek terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
• Greek learned borrowings from Ancient Greek
• Greek terms derived from Ancient Greek
• Greek doublets
• Greek terms with IPA pronunciation
• Greek lemmas
• Greek verbs
• Greek formal terms
• Greek terms with usage examples
• Greek verbs conjugating like 'λαμβάνω'

• Pages linking to anchors not found in Appendix:Glossary
• Pages with entries
• Pages with 2 entries
• Ancient Greek links with redundant alt parameters