From the book
Stobaeus, Volume I
John Stobaeus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordEknephias is a squall issuing from a cloud.
- In StobaeusThe account attributed to Aristotle describes a whirlwind as a squall descending in rotation.
- In this edition“Squall” is concise; “windstorm from a cloud” explains the fuller sense.
- A place to beginA cloud squall forced into rotation becomes the model for a whirlwind.
- English renderings
- squall; windstorm from a cloud
Meaning
Eknephias is a squall issuing from a cloud. Its origin in the cloud is part of the term’s force in the reported explanation.
Use in the book
The account attributed to Aristotle describes a whirlwind as a squall descending in rotation. Obstruction prevents straight movement, while pressure from behind turns the wind back upon itself. Calling the result an undigested squall suggests a process that has failed to develop or discharge normally.
Places to read
- I.29.1.16A cloud squall forced into rotation becomes the model for a whirlwind.
Translation in this edition
“Squall” is concise; “windstorm from a cloud” explains the fuller sense.
Source note
Wachsmuth, volume I, printed pp. 234. The report is associated with Arius Didymus’s epitome and parallels Aristotle’s Meteorology; it is not presented as a verbatim quotation throughout.