πτερόν

English (LSJ)

τό, (πέτομαι, πτέσθαι) mostly in pl.,

   A feathers, Od.15.527, Hdt.2.73, etc.: in sg., feather, E.Rh.618, Ar.Ach.584, 1105; πτεροῦ σῦριγξ quill, Hp.Fist.6; τὰ ὦτα πτερῷ κνωμένοις Luc.Salt.2; ἀντὶ τριχῶν πτερὰ φύειν Pl.Ti.91d (cf. Ar.Av.106); ἡ τῶν π. ἀποβολή Pl.Phdr. 246d: prov., πόνου δ' ἴδοις ἂν οὐδαμοῦ ταὐτὸν π. misery is of varied plumage, i.e. manifold, A.Supp.329; τοῖς αὑτῶν π. ἁλίσκεσθαι to be shot with an arrow feathered from one's own plumes, 'hoist with one's own petard', Id.Fr.139; ἀλλοτρίοις π. ἀγάλλεσθαι pride oneself on 'borrowed plumes', Luc.Pro Merc.Cond.4; κείρευ πτερά 'have your wings clipped', Call.Epigr.47.8.    2 = πτέρυξ, bird's wing, freq. in pl., wings, Il.11.454, Od.2.151, etc. (sg., A.Fr.304.4); οἶμον αἰθέρος ψαίρει πτεροῖς Id.Pr.396; Παλλάδος ὑπὸ πτεροῖς ὄντας, metaph. from chickens under the hen's wings, Id.Eu.1001 (lyr.); τὰ τέκν' ἔχων ὑπὸ πτεροῖς E.Heracl.10, etc.: as an emblem of speed, ὡσεὶ π. ἠὲ νόημα Od.7.36; πόδα τιθεὶς ἴσον πτεροῖς E.IT32; δοκεῖτε πηδᾶν τἀδικήματ' εἰς θεοὺς πτεροῖσι; Id.Fr.506; also τῷ δ' εὖτε πτερὰ γίγνετο he got as it were wings, i.e. spirit, courage, Il.19.386; νωμᾷ δ' ἐν οἰωνοῖσι τοὐκείνης (sc. Ἀφροδίτης) πτερόν, ἐν θηρσίν, ἐν βροτοῖσιν, ἐν θεοῖς her uplifting influence, S.Fr.941.11.    3 wings of a bat, Hdt.2.76; of insects, Arist.HA532a25, PA682b18, al.    II any winged creature, as the Sphinx, E.Ph.806 (lyr.); a beetle, Ar.Pax76.    2 omen, πιστὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν π. S.OC97.    III anything like wings or feathers: as    1 oars, ἐρετμά, τά τε πτερὰ νηυσὶ πέλονται Od.11.125; νηὸς πτερά Hes.Op.628 (unless sails, cf. πτίλον 111.2); ὅπῃ νεὼς στείλαιμ' ἂν οὔριον π. E.Hel.147; σκάφος ἀΐσσον πτεροῖσι Id.Tr.1086 (lyr.): hence conversely, of birds, πτεροῖς ἐρέσσει Id.IT289; πτερῶν εἰρεσίᾳ, of Hermes, Luc.Tim.40.    2 ἀέθλων πτερά, i.e. the crown of victory, which lifts the victor to heaven, Pi.O.14.24, cf.P.9.125.    3 sg., wings of the wind, dub. in S.Fr.23.3.    4 fan or parasol, Com. Adesp.1129.    5 π. ἱέρακος a hawk's wing, worn by the ἱερογραμματεύς in Egypt, D.S.1.87.    6 feathered arrow, E.Hel.76.    7 ploughshare, Lyc. 1072.    8 side-walls of Egyptian temples, Str.17.1.28, Plu.2.359a.    b battlements, Procop.Aed.2.8.    c portcullis, or drawbridge, in gateways, Sch.E.Ph.114.    9 πτερὰ Θετταλικά were the fluttering corners of a χλαμύς (v. πτέρυξ 11.4), Poll. 7.46.