Learn Greek › C1 › λαβή
λαβή
handle /laˈvi/
nounC1#3755 most common
Also: grip, hold, pretext
Example sentences
Η λαβή του μαχαιριού είναι ξύλινη.
The knife's handle is wooden.
Κράτησε την πόρτα από τη λαβή.
Hold the door by the handle.
Η λαβή της βαλίτσας έσπασε στο αεροδρόμιο.
The suitcase's handle broke at the airport.
Μην του δίνεις λαβή για σχόλια.
Don't give him an opening for criticism.
Ο παλαιστής βρήκε τη λαβή που χρειαζόταν για να ρίξει τον αντίπαλό του.
The wrestler found the hold he needed to throw his opponent.
Οι λαβές των παλιών εργαλείων ήταν συνήθως κατασκευασμένες από σκληρό ξύλο.
The handles of old tools were usually made of hard wood.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | η λαβή | οι λαβές |
| Genitive | της λαβής | των λαβών |
| Accusative | τη λαβή | τις λαβές |
| Vocative | λαβή | λαβές |
Word family
Etymology
Λαβή comes from the verb λαμβάνω, to take or grasp, built on its aorist stem λαβ-. The suffix -ή turns that verb stem into a noun naming the result of the action, so λαβή originally meant an act of grasping, and then the thing you grasp by. Scholars are not fully agreed on the deeper origin of λαμβάνω itself, so no secure root beyond Greek should be assumed.
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