φούρκα? μπαλλα?

Aelialicinia

Aelialicinia

Senior Member
USA English
"Τους άλλους από φούρκα, σπαθί και μπάλλα τους επέρασαν."

"The rest were impaled by ..................., sword, and ...................."

fourka seem to be some kind of forked club/spear...but μπάλλα?
 
    • Aelialicinia said:
    "Τους άλλους από φούρκα, σπαθί και μπάλλα τους επέρασαν."
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    (φούρκα [μτγν.<λατ. furca, βλ. αγγλ. fork] = [here] πάσσαλος, δικράνι = pitchfork, stake ) (μπάλλα [< διαλεκτ. ιταλ. balla] = [here] iron ball, tied by chain to the leg of convicts [as in jail]) or used as a knocking weapon.

    You changed the syntax into passive. If we keep the active voice as it is in the Greek text, the sentence might be translated as: "The Turks (already mentioned before, subject of the verb επέρασαν) others impaled by stake, others slaughtered with their crescent swords and others crashed to death by hitting them with the iron ball.
     
    Last edited:
    Perfect!
    velisarius said:
    I'd read φούρκα as "anger" and μπάλλα is the "ball" shot from a rifle of the time. (Interested to hear what native speakers say.)

    In their rage, they ran the others through with the sword, or shot them.

    Some context can be seen here:
    24 Ιουνίου 1821: Ο «μεγάλος αρπεντές» στο Μεγάλο Κάστρο
    Click to expand...
    ioanell said:
    (φούρκα [μτγν.<λατ. furca, βλ. αγγλ. fork] = [here] πάσσαλος, δικράνι = pitchfork, stake ) (μπάλλα [< διαλεκτ. ιταλ. balla] = [here] iron ball, tied by chain to the leg of convicts [as in jail]) or used as a knocking weapon.

    You changed the syntax into passive. If we keep the active voice as it is in the Greek text, the sentence might be translated as: "The Turks (already mentioned before, subject of the verb επέρασαν) others impaled by stake, others slaughtered with their crescent swords and others crashed to death hitting them with the iron ball.
    Click to expand...
     
    I think μπάλα means the bullet here. Compare with modern cretan "μπαλωθιά" (gun shot).
     
    But did they call them bullets back then, I wonder? I'm not very familiar with the workings of old firearms, but "bullet" sounds too modern.

    Sotos, how do you interpret φούρκα?
     
    velisarius said:
    But did they call them bullets back then, I wonder? I'm not very familiar with the workings of old firearms, but "bullet" sounds too modern.

    Sotos, how do you interpret φούρκα?
    Click to expand...
    The bullets were called βόλια in mainland Greece, but probably also μπάλες in islands with latin influence. But βόλι is another word for something small sphaerical, from older gr. βόλος/βώλος. What I knew as φούρκα was a two-prone agricultural tool, similar to trident. I had heard the v. φουρκίζω with the sense of punishment or execution but i'm not sure what it means. I had the feeling that meaned hanging.
     
    velisarius said:
    But did they call them bullets back then, I wonder? I'm not very familiar with the workings of old firearms, but "bullet" sounds too modern.

    Sotos, how do you interpret φούρκα?
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    Hi general, I'm not sotos (obviously) but φούρκα as I know it is this, also known as δικράνι.
    Φουρκίζω (as sotos very elloquently has put it) was originally the stabbing with the φούρκα, and in its mediopassive form (φουρκίζομαι) described the rage that leads to stabbing (nowadays only the rage of course).
     
    Φούρκα εδώ είναι η κρεμάλα. Λέξη ιταλική (σήμερα forca), που βασικά σημαίνει "δικράνι", αλλά έχει κι αυτή τη σημασία.
    1624824003256.png
     
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