From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordPlēktron means plectrum; the implement used to strike the lyre’s strings.
- In LysisThe dative πλήκτρῳ indicates the instrument with which the strings are struck.
- Reading contextIts role parallels, with a different outcome, the wool-working tools Lysis must not touch.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “to strike with the plectrum.”
- English renderings
- Plectrum; the implement used to strike the lyre’s strings
Meaning
Plectrum; the implement used to strike the lyre’s strings.
Grammatical category: noun, neuter.
Use in the book
The dative πλήκτρῳ indicates the instrument with which the strings are struck. It stands alongside plucking them and adjusting their tension as an operation Lysis is trusted to perform. The word names a small practical implement rather than a general musical technique. Its role parallels, with a different outcome, the wool-working tools Lysis must not touch.
Places to read
- 209bκρούειν τῷ πλήκτρῳ — to strike with the plectrum.