παλαιστρικός, παλαιστικός
(Phryn. Ecl. 212, Poll. 3.149)

A. Main sources

(1) Phryn. Ecl. 212: παλαιστρικός· Ἄλεξίν φασιν εἰρηκέναι, ὁ δὲ ἀρχαῖος παλαιστικὸν λέγει.

Codd. EF have ἀλέξανδρος instead of ἄλεξιν.

παλαιστρικός (‘for the gym, pertaining the gym’): They say that Alexis (fr. 326 = C.1) used it, but the ancient [speaker] uses παλαιστικός (‘expert in wrestling’).

(2) Poll. 3.149: πάλη καὶ παλαιστὴς καὶ παλαιστικός, παλαίσματα παλαιστικῶς, ἰσόπαλος, ἀντίπαλος.

πάλη (‘wrestling’), παλαιστής (‘wrestler’) and παλαιστικός (‘expert in wrestling’), παλαίσματα (‘bout’ or ‘fall in wrestling’), παλαιστικῶς (‘after the manner of wrestling’), ἰσόπαλος (‘equal in the match’), ἀντίπαλος (‘wrestling against, adversary’).

B. Other erudite sources

(1) Epim.Hom. λ 15: Λακεδαίμων Λακεδαίμονος: ὁ κανών· τὰ δὲ κοινὰ τῷ γένει διὰ τοῦ ο· ὁ Λακεδαίμων γὰρ ἀνὴρ ἀπὸ τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἡ Λακεδαίμων πόλις. καὶ ἡ κλητικὴ ὦ Λακεδαῖμον. ὁ τόνος· τὰ εἰς ων σύνθετα, ὅταν εἰς ον εἴη, ἀναβιβάζεται· σεσημείωται τὸ ὦ Λακεδαῖμον καὶ τὸ ὦ Παλαῖμον. Παλαίμων δὲ λέγεται ὁ ἔμπειρος τῆς παλαιστικῆς ἐκ τοῦ πάλη, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν παλαίστραν, καὶ τοῦ αἵμων, ὃ σημαίνει τὸν ἔμπειρον. τὸ δὲ Λακεδαίμων λαχεδαίμων τις οὖσα· ἐν αὐτῇ γὰρ οἱ θεοὶ πρῶτον ἔλαχον καὶ ἐκληρώσαντο τὰς πόλεις.

Cf. Choerob. in Theodos. GG 4,1.394.24–395.10. Et.Gud. 361.13–24 presents a very similar text; see also Et.Gud. 424.50–4 and EM 647.19–21.

Λακεδαίμων Λακεδαίμονος (Hom. Il. 3.239): The rule [is]: the [nouns] of common gender [have the vocative case ending] in ο. Λακεδαίμων (masc.) is the man coming from the city [of Lacaedemon] and Λακεδαίμων (fem.) is [the name of] the city. The vocative [case] is ὦ Λακεδαῖμον. [About] the accent: the compounds [ending] in -ων retract the accent when [their ending is] -ον; ὦ Λακεδαῖμον and ὦ Παλαῖμον are exceptions. Παλαίμων (‘Palaemon’) stands for [someone] experienced in the art of wrestling (ὁ ἔμπειρος τῆς παλαιστικῆς) – it derives from πάλη, which denotes the wrestling-school, and from αἵμων, which denotes [someone who is] skilful. The city of Λακεδαίμων [is so named for its] being λαχεδαίμων (‘obtained by the god’, from λαγχάνω [‘to obtain’] and δαίμων [‘god’]): indeed, in it (i.e. the city of Lacaedemon) for the first time the gods governed and were in possession of the cities.

(2) Thom.Mag. 290.5–7: παλαιστρικός Ἄλεξις εἶπε· σὺ δὲ παλαιστικός. Λουκιανὸς ἐν τῷ θεῶν κρίσις· γυμνὰς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ παλαιστική.

The Excerpta Guelferbytana (cod. Guelf. 20 Gud. graec. 34v, cf. Ritschl, lviii–lx) read: παλαιστικὸς ὁ δύναμιν ἔχων παλαίειν οὐ παλαιστρικός· οὐ γὰρ γίνεται ἀπὸ τοῦ παλαίστρα, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ παλαίω (‘the one who is able to wrestle is [said] παλαιστικός, not παλαιστρικός, for [the adjective] does not come from παλαίστρα, but from the [verb] παλαίω’).

Alexis (fr. 326 = C.1) used παλαιστρικός (‘for the gym’, ‘pertaining the gym’), but you [must use] παλαιστικός (‘expert in wrestling’). Lucian [says so] in The Judgment of the Goddesses (14.5 = C.2): ‘much given to exercise and athletics’.

C. Loci classici, other relevant texts

(1) Alex. fr. 326 = Phryn. Ecl. 212 re. παλαιστρικός (A.1).

Cf. also CGFP 239.23: πα]λ̣αιστρικῶς.

(2) Luc. DIud. 14.4–6: λευκὴ μέν, οἵαν εἰκὸς ἐκ κύκνου γεγενημένην, ἁπαλὴ δέ, ὡς ἐν ᾠῷ τραφεῖσα, γυμνὰς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ παλαιστική, […].

The codd. deriving from γ read παλαιστρική.

She is white, as is natural in the daughter of a swan, and delicate, since she was nurtured in an eggshell, much given to exercise and athletics […]. (Transl. Harmon 1921, 405).