Learn Greek › B1 › κέλι
κέλι
cell (a small room, as in a prison or monastery) /keˈli/
nounB1#1801 most common
Also: prison cell, monk's cell
Example sentences
Το κελί είναι μικρό.
The cell is small.
Ο μοναχός ζει σε ένα κελί.
The monk lives in a cell.
Ο κρατούμενος πέρασε πολλά χρόνια στο κελί του.
The prisoner spent many years in his cell.
Το μοναστήρι έχει δώδεκα κελιά για τους μοναχούς.
The monastery has twelve cells for the monks.
Η πόρτα του κελιού ήταν κλειδωμένη όλη νύχτα.
The door of the cell was locked all night.
Στα κελιά των φυλακισμένων επικρατούσε απόλυτη σιωπή, σαν να είχε σταματήσει ο χρόνος.
In the prisoners' cells absolute silence prevailed, as if time had stopped.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | το κελί | τα κελιά |
| Genitive | του κελιού | των κελιών |
| Accusative | το κελί | τα κελιά |
| Vocative | κελί | κελιά |
Word family
κελάριcellar, pantry
κελλάρηςcellarer, storekeeper (historical/monastic role)
κελλίονarchaic form of κελί
μοναχικό κελίmonastic cell
Etymology
Κελί comes from the Byzantine Greek κελλίον, a diminutive borrowed from Latin cella, meaning a small enclosed room. The word entered Greek through monastic life, where monks lived in individual cells, and later extended to prison cells. Over centuries the ending -ίον wore down to -ί, giving the modern form.
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