- ἀσπίς 1
- ἀσπίς 1., -ίδοςGrammatical information: f.Meaning: `shield' (Il.); a round shield (as opposed to σάκος, Trümpy Fachausdrücke 20ff.).Derivatives: Dimin. ἀσπίδιον (Hermipp.), also a plant (Dsc.; s. Strömberg Pflanzennamen 55). - ἀσπιστής `warrior with shield' (Il.), ἀσπιδιώτης (Il.) m.c. (Meister HK 30). Note ἀσπιδεὶα· τὰς πτύχας τὼν ἀσπίδων καὶ μέρος τῆς νεὼς πρὸς τῃ̃ πρύμνᾳ H.Origin: XX [etym. unknown]Etymology: Unknown. The explanation as *ἀν-σπίς, to σπίδιος (Bechtel Lex.), almost certainly wrong. - The comparison with Lith. skỹdas `shield' (Pisani Ist. Lomb. 73: 2, 23) is improbable; Fraenkel considers it a loan from Germanic. - For the connection with OHG aspa `asp' s. Thieme, Heimat 546-548, but this word had -ps-, not -sp- (which may not be prohibitive). - ἀσπίς could well be a loanword, from the substr. or not; cf. Trümpy. (Improb. vW.)Page in Frisk: 1,168-169
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.