μάλα

μάλα [μᾰλᾰ; but Hom. sts. uses the ult. long before λ, Il.3.214, 4.379; before μ, 10.172], Adv.

A very, exceedingly, prefixed or subjoined to Adjectives, Verbs, and Adverbs:

1 strengthening the word with which it stands,

a with Adjs., in Hom. most freq., μάλα πολλά very many, Od.1.1; μ. πᾶσα, μ. πάντα, every one, all together, Il.13.741, Od.2.306, etc.; μάλ' ἀσκηθής all unhurt, 5.26; ἀβληχρὸς μ. τοῖος quite gentle, 11.135; σαρδάνιον μ. τοῖον a quite sardonic smile, 20.302;

μάλα μυρίοι 15.556

, 16.121, etc.; ἐμέο πρότερος μ. actually before me, Il.10.124; later, μ. φιλόσοφοι, πλάτανος μάλ' ἀμφιλαφής, etc., Pl.Prm.126b, Phdr.230b, etc.: strengthd., μ. δὴ πρεσβύτης very old, X.Cyr.8.7.1;

μ. γέ τινες ὀλίγοι Pl.R.531e

.

b with Advs., πάγχυ μ., μ. πάγχυ, quite utterly, Il.12.165, 14.143;

πάνυ μ. Pl.Phd.80c

; εὖ μ. right well, Od.22.190, Pl.Phd.92d, etc.;

μάλα . . εὖ Od.23.175

, cf. Pl.Tht.156a; μάλ' αὐτίκα (v. αὐτίκα) ; μάλ' αἰεί for ever and aye, Il.13.557, 23.717; ἄχρι μ. κνέφαος until quite dark, Od.18.370; μάλ' ὧδε just in this way, 6.258; μ. διαμπερές right through, Il.20.362; μ. μόλις (v. μόλις); to express repeated action,

μάλ' αὖθις A.Ag.1345

, Ch.654;

μάλ' αὖ S.El.1410

, etc.; μ. alone,

ἔα, ἔα μ. A.Ch.870

;

οἲ μ. καὶ τόδ' ἀλγῶ Id.Pers.1045

(lyr.);

εἶα μ. Ar.Pax 460s

q. (so

ἄλλος πύργος . . , καὶ ἕτερος μ. ἐπὶ τούτῳ Hdt. 1.181

, cf. 7.186): freq. after

καί, αὗταί σ' ὁδηγήσουσι καὶ μάλ' ἀσμένως A.Pr.728

, cf. Ch.879: with neg., μάλ' οὐ, μάλ' οὔ πως, Il.2.241, Od. 5.103;

οὐ μ. Hdt.1.93

, 2.37, S.Ph.676 (lyr.).

c with Verbs,

μήτ' ἄρ με μάλ' αἴνεε Il.10.249

;

μ. τ' ἔκλυον αὐτοῦ 1.218

; ἡ δὲ μάλ' ἡνιόχευεν drove carefully, Od.6.319; μ . . . προπέμπει in earnest, A.Th.915 (lyr.), cf. Eu.368 (lyr.);

καὶ μ. δοκοῦντας φρονίμους εἶναι X.Cyr.6.1.36

;

μ. πολιορκούμενοι Id.HG7.1.25

.

2 strengthening an assertion, νῦν σε μ. χρὴ αἰχμητὴν ἔμεναι, i.e. now or never, Il.16.492; τῷ κε μάλ' ἤ κεν μεῖνε . . then doubtless he would have stayed, Od.4.733; σοὶ δὲ μάλ' ἕψομ' ἐγώ yes indeed . . , Il.10.108; ἀλλὰ μάλ' ὤφελλες why plainly . . , Od.4.472: freq. with another word, as ἦ μ. δή . . now in very truth, Il.5.422, etc.;

ἦ δή που μ. 21.583

; freq. ἦ μ. (without δή) 3.204, etc.

3 in Hom. sts. after εἰ, as εἰ μ. μιν χόλος ἵκοι if wrath come on him ever so much, Il.17.399, cf. Od.5.485, al.;

καὶ εἰ μ. τις πολεμίζοι Il.9.318

; also μ. περ c. part., μ. περ μεμαώς though desiring never so much, 13.317, cf. 14.58, 17.710, al.;

καὶ μ. περ 1.217

, cf. 17.571;

καὶ εὐρέα περ μάλ' ἐόντα Od.18.385

.

4 in [dialect] Att. freq. in answers, yes, certainly,

μ. γε Pl.R.555d

, 564e, etc.;

μ. τοι X.Mem.1.2.46

;

καὶ μ. Pl.Phdr.258c

;

καὶ μ. γε Id.Tht.148c

, etc.; καὶ μ. δή ib.177a; καὶ μ. ἐπαύσατο certainly it stopped, Id.Smp.189a, etc.

II [comp] Comp. [full] μᾶλλον [[pron. full] ᾱ by nature, Hdn.Gr.2.932], [dialect] Ion. [full] μάλιον [pron. full] [ᾰ] only in Tyrt.12.6, cf. Choerob.in An.Ox.2.240; late [dialect] Dor. [full] μαλλότερον Pempel. ap. Stob.4.25.52:—more, rather, Il.5.231, Od.1.351, al.: mostly folld. by ἤ, but in Prose also by a gen., μ. τοῦ ξυμφέροντος more than is expedient, Antipho 5.1;

μ. τοῦ δέοντος Pl.Grg.487b

, X.Mem.4.3.8 (sts. expressed by μᾶλλον alone, Pl. Phd.63d);

οὐπώποτ' ἔργου μ. εἱλόμην λόγους E.Fr.394

; παντὸς μ. most assuredly, Pl.Lg.715d (v. infr. 8); in Id.Ap.36d, οὐκ ἔσθ' ὅτι μ. πρέπει οὕτως, ὡς . . , ὡς is prob. = ἤ (v. ὡς): denoting a constant increase, more and more, sts. doubled,

μ. μ. E.IT1406

, Ar.Ra.1001 (lyr.), Alex.29: in positive sense, exceedingly,

κηρόθι μ. Il.9.300

, Od.15.370, al.:—Usage:

1 freq. strengthened by other words,

πολὺ μ. Il.9.700

, etc.;

ἔτι μ. 14.97

, al.;

μ. ἔτ' ἢ τὸ πάροιθεν Od.1.322

;

καὶ μ. Il.8.470

;

καὶ μ. ἔτι Od.18.22

;

ἔτι καὶ μ. Pi.P.10.57

;

ἔτι καὶ πολὺ μ. Il.23.386

, 429, Hes.Th.428;

ἐπὶ μ. Hdt.3.104

;

ἔτι ἐπὶ μ. Id.1.94

;

πολλῷ μ. Pl.Phd.80e

, 1 Ep.Cor.12.22: also modified, μᾶλλόν τι somewhat more,

μ. τι περιημέκτεε Hdt.1.114

, cf.50, etc.;

μ. ἤδη προσδεχομένου Th.8.71

.

2 sts. with a second [comp] Comp.,

ῥηΐτεροι μ. Il.24.243

, cf. Hdt.1.32, A.Th.673, Supp.279, S.Ant.1210, E.El.222, Pl. Phd.79e, Is.4.14 (s.v.l.), Arist.Top.116b24.

3 μᾶλλον δέ much more . . , or rather . . , to correct a statement already made,

ὁ δεσπότης πέπραγεν εὐτυχέστατα, μ. δ' ὁ Πλοῦτος αὐτός Ar.Pl.634

;

πολλοί, μ. δὲ πάντες D.18.65

, cf. Pl.Smp.173e; so

ἢ μ. Corn.ND20

, Simp.in Ph.25.16; οὐχὶ μ. ἤ . . not so, but rather so . . , Th.2.87.

4 μ. δὲ καὶ ἡσυχαίτερα more or less violent, Id.3.82.

5 οὐδὲν μ. none the more, ib.79;

οὐδέν τι μ. Pl.Phd.87d

; μηδέν τι μ. ἤ . . S.Aj.280.

6 μ. ἤ . . folld. by οὐ in comparisons, where preference implies rejection or denial,

πόλιν ὅλην διαφθεῖραι μᾶλλον ἤ οὐ τοὺς αἰτίους Th.3.36

: preceded by another neg., Hdt.4.118, 5.94, 7.16. γ, etc.: by an interrog. which conveys a neg. force, τίδεῖ . . μᾶλλον, ἤ οὐ . . ; X.HG6.3.15.

7 τὸ μ. καὶ ἧττον, a form of argument, a fortiori, Arist.Rh.1397b12.

8 παντὸς μ., v. πᾶς 111.4.

III [comp] Sup. [full] μάλιστα most of all, above all, Hom., etc.;

πᾶσι, μάλιστα δ' ἐμοί Od.21.353

; μ. μὲν . . , ἔπειτα or ἔπειτα δέ . . , first and above all . . , next . . , S.OT647, cf. Ph.1285; μ. μὲν . . , δεύτερον δὲ . . Is.2.20; μ. μὲν . . , εἰ δὲ μὴ . . Hdt.8.22, Th.1.40, Pl.R.590d, D.20.25, etc.;

τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶ μ. μὲν θάνατος, εἰ δὲ μή, πάντα τὰ ὄντα ἀφελέσθαι Id.21.152

; μάλιστα μὲν . . , μᾶλλον μέντοι . . Pl.Smp.180b; μάλιστα . . , εἰ μὴ δ' . . S.Ph.617; δοκέων μιν μ. ταύτης ἂν πείθεσθαι certainly, Hdt.3.53; τί μ.; what precisely? Pl.Grg.448d, cf. Men.80b, Smp.218c: c. gen. partit.,

μ. πάντων Hdt.2.37

, Pl.Prt.327a, cf. Th. 4.86; τὸ μ. πάντων the supreme reality, Plot.5.5.11; τὸ μ. εἶναι the highest degree of being, Id.6.2.7.

1 strengthd., ὡς μ. certainly, A.Supp.294, Pl.R.460a, etc.;

ὅσον μ. A.Pr.524

;

ὅσα ἐδύνατο μ. Hdt.1.185

;

ὡς δύναμαι μ. Pl.R.367b

;

ὡς οἷόν τε μ. Id.Grg.510b

;

εἰς ὅσον ἀνθρώπῳ δυνατὸν μ. Id.Phdr.277a

;

ὅτι μ. δύνασαι Id.Sph.239b

;

μακρῷ μ. Hdt.1.171

;

πολλῷ μ. Paus.1.42.3

;

παντὸς μ. D.H.3.35

, etc.

2 with the Art., ἐς τὰ μ. in the highest degree, Hdt.1.20, 2.76, Th.6.104, 8.6, D.21.212: without

ἐς, φίλοι τὰ μ. Hdt.2.147

, cf.Th. 1.92, D.21.62;

τά γε μ. Pl.Lg.794d

; εἰ τὰ μ. ἦσαν ἀληθεῖς if they were ever so true, D.18.95; εἰ τὰ μ. μὴ τινές, ἀλλὰ πάντες . . if (to put an extreme case) not some, but all . . , Id.20.2;

εἰ . . δοκοίη τὰ μ. Id.18.21

; ἀνὴρ δόκιμος ὁμοῖα τῷ μ. as famous as he that is most [famous], Hdt.7.118, cf. 3.8;

τοῖς μάλισθ' ὁμοίως D.Ep.2.24

.

b ἐν τοῖς μ. especially, as much as any, Th.8.90, Pl.Smp.173b, etc.: with a [comp] Sup.,

ἐν τοῖς μ. ὠμότατος Ael.VH14.40

;

φιλτάτη καὶ ἀναγκαιοτάτη ἐν τοῖς μ. Procop.Arc.4

.

3 added to a [comp] Sup. (v.

μάλα 11.2

, πλεῖστον) , ἔχθιστος μ., μ. φίλτατος, Il.2.220, 24.334;

μ. κῃ ἐμφερέστατα Hdt.2.76

;

μ. φίλτατος E.Hipp.1421

: to a [comp] Comp. (?),

μ. δὴ ὀκνηρότεροι ἐγένοντο Th.4.55

.

4 μάλιστα for

μᾶλλον, μ. τῆς κόρης E.IA[1594]

;

μ. ἤ ἐμοί A.R.3.91

.

5 with numerals, in round numbers, about, Th.3.29, 92, X.HG5.2.31, etc.; πεντήκοντα μάλιστα is 49 in Th.1.118;

ἑκατοστὸς μ. 99t

h, Id.8.68; ἐς μέσον μάλιστά κῃ about the middle, Hdt. 1.191, cf. 76;

ἥμισυ μ. Th.1.93

; μ. σφᾶς μεσοῦν δειπνοῦντας that they were about the middle of supper, Pl.Smp.175c;

κου μ. Hdt.7.22

;

μ. πως Plb.2.41.13

.

6 in answers, most certainly, Ar.Pl.827, etc.;

μ. γε S.OT994

, Ar.Nu.253;

μ. πάντων Id.Av.1531

;

πάντων μ. Pl.Grg.453d

; v. supr.1.4. (Orig. perh. fiercely, cf. μαλερός.)