the shadow of the gnomon, the length of which in feet indicated the time of day
στοιχεῖον,τό:
I. in a form of sun-dial,the shadow of the gnomon, the length of which in feet indicated the time of day,ὅταν ᾖ δεκάπουν τὸ ς. when theshadowis ten feet long, Ar. Ec. 652 ,v.Sch.; ὁπηνίκ' ἂν εἴκοσι ποδῶν . . τὸ ς. ᾖ
Eub. 119.7
, cf. Philem. 83 .
II. element,
1. asimple soundof speech, as thefirst componentof the syllable, Pl. Cra. 424d ;τὸ ῥῶ τὸ ς. ib. 426d ; γραμμάτων ς. καὶ συλλαβάς
, cf. Gal. 15.6 :—στοιχεῖαtherefore, strictly, were different fromletters(γράμματα), Diog.Bab.Stoic. 3.213 , Sch.D.T. p.32 , al., but are freq. not clearly distd. from them, as by Pl. Tht. l.c., Cra. 426d ; τὰ ς. τῶν γραμμάτων τὰ τέτταρα καὶ εἴκοσι
(ii A.D.);ἀκουόμενα ς.letterswhich are pronounced, A.D. Adv. 165.17 ;γράμματαandς. are expressly identified by D.T. 630.32 ; theς. and its name are confused by A.D. Synt. 29.1 , but distd. by Hdn.Gr. ap. Choerob. in Theod. 1.340 , Sch. D.T. l.c.:— κατὰ στοιχεῖον in the order of the letters, alphabetically,
AP 11.15
( Ammian. ); dub.sens.in Plu. 2.422e .
2. in Physics,στοιχεῖαwere thecomponents into which matter is ultimately divisible, elements, reduced to four by Empedocles, who called themῥιζὤματα, the wordστοιχεῖαbeing first used (acc. to Eudem. ap. Simp. in Ph. 7.13 ) by Pl. ,τὰ πρῶτα οἱονπερεὶς, ἐξ ὧν ἡμεῖς τε συγκείμεθα καὶ τἄλλα
, Thphr. Fr. 46 ;ἄτομα ς. Epicur. Ep. 2p.36U. ; equivalent toἀρχαί, Thales ap. Plu. 2.875c , Anaximand. ap. D.L. 2.1 , Anon. ap. Arist. Ph. 188b28 , Metaph. 1059b23 , al.; but Arist. also distinguishesς. fromἀρχήas less comprehensive, ib. 1070b23 ;τὰ ς. ὕλη τῆς οὐσίαςib. 1088b27 ;τρία τὰ ς. Id. Ph. 189b16 ; distd. fromἀρχήon other grounds by Stoic. 2.111 ;ς. used in three senses by Chrysipp., ib. 136 , cf. Zeno ib. 1.24 , al.; in Medicine, Gal. 6.3 , 420 , al., 15.7 , al.; Αἰθέρ, κόσμου ς. ἄριστον
Orph. H. 5.4
;ἀνηλεὲς ς., of the sea, Babr. 71.4 ;τὸ ς., of the sea, Polem. Cyn. 44 ;ἄμφω τὰ ς., i.e. land and sea, ib. 11 , cf. Hdn. 3.1.5 , Him. Ecl. 2.18 .
3. theelements of proof, e.g. in general reasoning theπρῶτοι συλλογισμοί, Arist. Metaph. 1014b1 ; in Geometry, the propositions whose proof is involved in the proof of other propositions, ib. 998a26 , 1014a36 ; title of geometrical works by Hippocrates of Chios, Leon, Theudios, and Euclid, Procl. in Euc. pp.66,67 , 68F. : hence applied to whatever is one, small, and capable of many uses, Arist. Metaph. 1014b3 ; to whatever is most universal, e.g. the unit and the point, ib. 6 ; the line and the circle, Id. Top. 158b35 ; theτόπος(argument applicable to a variety of subjects), ib. 120b13 , al., Rh. 1358a35 , al.; στοιχεῖα τὰ γένη λέγουσί τινες
Id. Metaph. 1014b10
;τὸ νόμισμα ς. καὶ πέρας τῆς ἀλλαγῆςcoin is theunit . .of exchange, Id. Pol. 1257b23 ; in Grammar,ς. τῆς λέξεως partsof speech, D.H. Comp. 2 ; but also, theletterscomposing a word, A.D. Synt. 313.7 ;lettersof the alphabet, Diog. Bab. Stoic. 3.213 ;ς. τοῦ λόγουtheelementsof speech, viz.words, or thekinds of words, partsof speech, Thphr. ap. Simp. in Cat. 10.24 , Chrysipp.Stoic. 2.45 , A.D. Synt. 7.1 , 313.6 .
