epsila

From the Ancient Greek ἒ ψιλά (è psilá), plural construction of ἒ ψιλόν (è psilón).

epsila pl

1. plural of epsilon
   • 1929, Mandell Creighton, Justin Winsor, Samuel Rawson Gardiner, Reginald Lane Poole, and Sir John Goronwy Edwards [eds.], The English Historical Review (Longman), volume 44, page 526

     These are of a sort found especially on Athos: an example is four epsila, which refer to the Holy Cross and stand for Ἐκ θεοῦ Ἐδόθη Εὔρημα Ἑλένη. Byzant. Zeitschr., xxvii.

   • 1982, Annual of Armenian Linguistics (Cleveland State University), volumes 3–7, page 64

     …what is the source of k’- in Arm. k’san “twenty?” The explanation, I believe, lies, like that for the initial epsila of East Greek ἑϜίκοσι and the pan-Greek ἑκατόν, in the syntax of old numeral phrases.

   • 1983, The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal →ISBN, 9780892360673), volume 11, page 159

     Round, normal-size epsila (l. 3) contrast with a large, ungainly epsilon (l. 7).

   • 1983, Christoph W. Clairmont, Patrios Nomos: Public Burial in Athens during the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.C. (B.A.R.; →ISBN, 9780860542056), page 179

     Finally, for (b), ll.17 and 20, with the epsila indented from the names below, Bradeen suggested ἐ[ν] or ἐ[πί] respectively, followed by a geographic heading.

   • 1992, William M. Brashear, A Mithraic Catechism from Egypt (Verlag Adolf Holzhausens Nfg.; →ISBN, 9783900518073), page 17

     To the right of → 6–8 the few remaining fibers are devoid of writing indicating that this might be a remnant of the original margin. Unfortunately, at the corresponding place on the other side, the vertical fibers are missing thus making any definitive judgment on the matter impossible. However, as Roy Kotansky observed, the epsila of ↓ 7–9 are vertically aligned so neatly under each other that they too probably represent the first letters of each line.

   • 1993, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin–Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete (B. G. Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft; →ISBN, 9783815475065), volumes 39–40, page 84

     In the subscription one letter, the final epsilon at the end of line 28, is written in exactly the same way as the epsila in the main body of the text, quite unlike the other epsila in the subscription.

   • 1993, Studia Varia from the J. Paul Getty Museum →ISBN, 9780892362035), page 96

     Epsila in the Getty recto lines 3 and 7 and PFayum 4.3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 12 receive similar treatment. In all examples a tendency toward angularity is modified by smooth curves where horizontal members meet the vertical shaft. Isolated examples, however, in Pfayum 4.10 and 11, are the clearly squared epsila pointed out as a “remarkable palaeographical feature” by Grenfell and Hunt.²⁵ Compare epsila in the Getty recto text lines 1 and 3, where a tendency toward angularity can be observed.

   • 1994, Adam Bülow-Jacobsen [ed.], Proceedings of the 20th International Congress of Papyrologists, Copenhagen, 23–29 August, 1992 (Museum Tusculanum Press, →ISBN, page 286

     Inconsistent letter forms: e.g. upsila in 1.2; kappas in 1.7; long rho in πρωτον vs. short rho in ημετερα; epsila in επελθω.

• espial, lipase, plaise