ξίφος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

  • σκῐ́φος (skĭ́phos) — Aeolic

Etymology

Already in Late Mycenaean Greek (Ta-716 from Pylos), attested in the dual 𐀥𐀯𐀟𐀁 (qi-si-pe-e, “two swords”) (mostly ideographically as 𐃉). Probably of Pre-Greek origin,[1] related to and perhaps borrowed from Egyptian zft (“sword, knife”).[2] If the Greek isn't borrowed directly from the Egyptian, perhaps both are from an Old Semitic saïf or sêf,[3] or from a Libyan or "Sea Peoples" word.[4]

Pronunciation

 

Noun

ξῐ́φος • (xĭ́phos) n (genitive ξῐ́φεος or ξῐ́φους); third declension

  1. sword, the short, straight, double-edged sword of the Iron Age and Classical Antiquity.
    1. the sword-shaped bone of the cuttlefish
      1. swordfish
        • 384 BCE – 322 BCE, Aristotle, Fragments 306
    2. corn-flag (Gladiolus italicus)
      Synonym: ξίφιον (xíphion)
      • 371 BCE – 287 BCE, Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants 7.13.1

Inflection

Third declension of τὸ ξῐ́φος; τοῦ ξῐ́φους (Attic)
Case / # Singular Dual Plural
Nominative τὸ ξῐ́φος
tò xĭ́phos 		τὼ ξῐ́φει
tṑ xĭ́phei 		τᾰ̀ ξῐ́φη
tằ xĭ́phē
Genitive τοῦ ξῐ́φους
toû xĭ́phous 		τοῖν ξῐφοῖν
toîn xĭphoîn 		τῶν ξῐφῶν
tôn xĭphôn
Dative τῷ ξῐ́φει
tōî xĭ́phei 		τοῖν ξῐφοῖν
toîn xĭphoîn 		τοῖς ξῐ́φεσῐ / ξῐ́φεσῐν
toîs xĭ́phesĭ(n)
Accusative τὸ ξῐ́φος
tò xĭ́phos 		τὼ ξῐ́φει
tṑ xĭ́phei 		τᾰ̀ ξῐ́φη
tằ xĭ́phē
Vocative ξῐ́φος
xĭ́phos 		ξῐ́φει
xĭ́phei 		ξῐ́φη
xĭ́phē
Notes:
  • This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Greek: ξίφος (xífos)
  • Mariupol Greek: пси́фус (psífus)

References

  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ξῐ́φος”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 1036-7
  2. ^ Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN
  3. ^ Johannes Dümichen, Historische Inschriften altägyptischer Denkmäler vol. 1, Leipzig (1867), 26-27.
  4. ^ John Linton Myres, Who were the Greeks?, University of California Press, 1930, p. 590

Further reading

Greek

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek ξίφος (xíphos, s-stem).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈksi.fos/

Noun

ξίφος • (xífos) n

  1. sword

Declension

Declension of ξίφος
singular plural
nominative ξίφος (xífos) ξίφη (xífi)
genitive ξίφους (xífous) ξιφών (xifón)
accusative ξίφος (xífos) ξίφη (xífi)
vocative ξίφος (xífos) ξίφη (xífi)

Synonyms

Derived terms

Further reading

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