The headword, a feminine noun, is attested with a variety of meanings, several of which relate to the format of a page. Usage differs according to author and period, and perhaps reflects terminological distinctions between a papyrus roll and a codex. The term originally denoted intervals in the text, both vertical and horizontal, but later came to signify also a column of writing or the page itself. See also kappa 21, kappa 315, sigma 209. See generally LSJ s.v.
[1] The gloss is unique to the Suda, but cf. Hesychius sigma387. Other lexica gloss the plural: Hesychius sigma383, Photius sigma134 Theodoridis (Porson 506.1). Adler also reports a corresponding entry in the Ambrosian Lexicon.
[2] See beta 275 and beta 587
[3] Greek Anthology 6.295.3, an epigram by Phanias, whose surviving verse is characterised by the use of rare vocabulary and lists of technical terminology (in this case the implements used by a scribe). See kappa 316. Find further extracts from this epigram at lambda 211, sigma 953, and psi 36.