Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One of a body of five elected magistrates exercising a supervisory power over the kings of Sparta.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One of a body of magistrates common to many ancient Dorian constitutions, the most celebrated being that of the Spartans, among whom the board of ephors consisted of five members, and was elected yearly by the people unrestrictedly from among themselves. Their authority ultimately became superior to that of the kings, and virtually supreme before the office was abolished, in 225 b. c., by Cleomenes III., after killing the existing incumbents. The ephors were afterward reëstablished by the Romans. Also
ephorus . - n. In modern Greece, an overseer or superintendent of public works.
Wiktionary
- n. historical One of the five annually-elected senior magistrates in various Doric states, especially ancient Sparta, who oversaw the actions of Spartan kings.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Gr. Antiq.) A magistrate; one of a body of five magistrates chosen by the people of ancient Sparta. They exercised control even over the king.
Etymologies
- From Ancient Greek ἔφορος (ephoros, "overseer") (< Homeric ἐπίουρος), from ἐπί (epi, "over") + ὁράω (oraō, "look"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin ephorus, from Greek ephoros, from ephorān, to oversee : ep-, epi-, epi- + horān, to see; see wer-3 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“He was present as ephor, in accordance with the custom which obliges two members of that board to serve on all military expeditions with the king, and with his colleague shared the political views represented by”
“Stadium; when Endius was ephor at Sparta, and Pythodorus archon at”
“Foteini Zafeiropoulou is ephor emerita of antiquities in the Greek Archaeological Service.”
“Lacedaemonians, however, refused to give up the Boeotian alliance — the party of Xenares the ephor, and such as shared their view, carrying the day upon this point — but renewed the oaths at the request of Nicias, who feared to return without having accomplished anything and to be disgraced; as was indeed his fate, he being held the author of the treaty with Lacedaemon.”
“In the thirteenth year of the reign of Darius, while Alexippidas was ephor at Lacedaemon, a convention was concluded in the plain of the Maeander by the Lacedaemonians and their allies with”
“With these words he, as ephor, himself put the question to the assembly of the Lacedaemonians.”
“He gave it out also, that he was to continue ephor the ensuing year.”
“Epitadeus happening to be ephor, a man of great influence, and of a willful, violent spirit, on some occasion of a quarrel with his son, proposed a decree, that all men should have liberty to dispose of their land by gift in their lifetime, or by their last will and testament.”
“Lysander, who was still ephor, resolving to be revenged on”
“The same ephor asked him, whether now at least he did not repent his rashness.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘ephor’.
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Gene Wolfe
Please contribute your favorite words from any of Gene Wolfe’s books to this prize-winning list.
In case you come across words in this list which are too commonplace to fit in, please ...gallipot, roost, badelaire, oblesque, execration, dhole, amschaspand, arctother, chalcedony, penitence, asimi, autarch and 839 more...
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A Sequel to 250 Spelling Words
Words to quiz the intermediate and advanced speller alike
amatorio, esemplastic, etesian, cholecystitis, chantepleure, paternoster, mondegreen, aporia, kairos, idioglossia, klepht, phansigar and 238 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1402 more...
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watchful words
wary, ware, ward, steward, warder, award, reward, wardrobe, guard, regard, rearward, arcturus and 25 more...
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f-words
fletcher's words
Angelus, Encratite, Phlegethon, armiger, Hildegrin, pelycosaur, Cumaean, monomachy, avern, sieur, sennet, eidolon and 49 more...
Tweets
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