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ἔξεστιν αὐτῶν κατατριακοντουτίσαι;
The verb κατατριακοντουτίσαι is a hapax legomenon, a coined compound formed from κατά, τρία (three), and the suffix -οντουτίσαι (related to τούτεις, 'to throw out' or 'to expel', itself a rare formation). In this context, the Knight asks whether the Demos is allowed to 'throw out three times' (i.e., ostracize or exile) the current leaders. The formation is a comic neologism, typical of Aristophanes' linguistic inventiveness, combining a numerical intensifier with a verb of expulsion to create a hyperbolic sense of repeated expulsion. The term is not attested elsewhere in the corpus and serves as a satirical exaggeration of the democratic practice of ostracism or political purging.
Knights. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.