λαΐτων τῶν δημοσίων τόπων

λήϊτον, τό, ([etym.] λαός, λεώς)

A town-hall, council-chamber, as the Achaeans of Achaea Phthiotis called it, Hdt.7.197; = δημόσιον acc. to Plu. Rom.26, Id.2.280a:—Hsch. has [full] λάϊτον· τὸ ἀρχεῖον, [full] λαΐτων· τῶν δημοσίων τόπων; cf. λαιετόν, λαῖστρον, Suid., Zonar.:—Hsch. also quotes [full] ληΐτη, [full] λῃτή, = ἱέρεια, a public priestess.

Grammatical information: m.

Meaning: `(the common) folk, crowd, military, people', in the NT esp. `the Jewish people', pl. `the military, men, subjects, serfs', also `the laity' (LXX); in sing. `follower' (Hecat. 23J.); on use and spread amply Björck Alpha impurum 318ff. (Il., Dor., hell).

Other forms: Ion. ληός (rare), Ion. Att. λεώς (archaic a. rare)

Dialectal forms: Myc. rawaketa \/lāwāgetās\/ cf. Chantraine Études 88m. n. 1

Compounds: Many old compp.: ΛαϜο-πτόλεμος, Ϝιό-λαϜος (Cor.), λαγέτας m. `leader of the people' (Pi.) from λᾱϜ-ᾱγετᾱς, Λα-έρ-της s.v., λαο-σσόος `urging the men' (Hom.; s. σεύω), λαο-, λεω-φόρος `carrying the people, publicly', of streets, as subst. `road' (Il.), Μενέλαος (Il.), - λεως Att. (Björck 104 ff.), a.o.; on the compounds Fick-Bechtel PN 184ff., and Björck l.c.

Derivatives: Few derivv. (partly because of the synonymous δῆμος, partly because of the homonymous forms of λᾱ̃ας): 1. λαϊκός `of the people, common' (hell.). 2. λαώδης `popular' (Ph., Plu.). 3. Λήϊτος PN (Il.), λήϊτον n. (on the very rare suffix - ιτο- Schwyzer 504) `townhall' with the Achaeans (Hdt., Plu. with Ion.- Att. form for) λάϊτον τὸ ἀρχεῖον, λαΐτων τῶν δημοσίων τόπων H.; beside it a.o λῃ̃τον (cod. λῃτόν) δημόσιον, ληΐτη, οἱ δε λῄτη (cod. λῃτή) ἱέρεια; cf. λαιετόν `townhall' (Su.) [strange]. λειτόν βλάσφημον H. (correct?); Fur. 238 n. 45 objects that - ιτο- is a Pre-Greek suffix, ib. 163, 187. Deriv. ληιτιαί ἡγεμονίαι, στρατιαί H. (Scheller Oxytonierung 91).

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [00] *leh₂-u̯o- `(fighting) people'

Etymology: As adj. 1.member in λῃτουργέω ( λειτ-) `fulfill a public office on private means, provide a (public, ecclesiastical) service' with λῃτουργ-ία ( λειτ-) `state-, service, Liturgie' (Att.), - ός, - ημα etc. (hell.), comp. *ληϊτο-Ϝεργ-έω to *λήϊτα ἔργα, cf. δημιουργέω, - ός (s.v.); also λῄτ-αρχος m. `public priest' (Lyc. 991). - Cf. also λείτωρ. Like thr Germ. word for `people', OHG liut, OE lēod, λᾱ(Ϝ)ός was origin. an (abstracte) collective; to it came the plur. λᾱ(Ϝ)οί as liuti, lēode ' Leute', to which again the sing. ληός `follower' as liut `man', cf. Schwyzer-Debrunner 42 n. 3, Wackernagel Synt. 1,92 f. - Otherwise than with the synonymous δῆμος and στρατός, λᾱ(Ϝ)ός, which was in Ion.-Att. never quite a thome, has no IE. etymologie, but was nevertheless old. (Not to λᾶας.) Mostly connected with Hitt. lah̯h̯a- `campaign' (Sturtevanr Lang. 7 (1931) 120; Tischler, Heth. etym. Glossar 5, 8). - In Maced.-Epir. PN Δρεβελαου v. Blumenthal IF 49, 181ff. finds an Illyr. pendant of Gr. Τρεφέλεως (further a PN Lava).

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