σήσαμον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Old Aramaic שושמא (šūššmā), shortening of שומשומא (šumššemā), from Akkadian 𒊭𒈦𒌑𒈬 (šamaššammū, “oil plant”), compound of 𒉌𒄑 (šaman, “oil”) and 𒌑 (šammum, “plant”).

Compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀭𐀭𐀔 (sa-sa-ma), which could place the borrowing at Proto-Hellenic age. The Greek neuter might have been back-formed from the collective.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sɛ̌ː.sa.mon/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈse̝.sa.mon/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.sa.mon/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.sa.mon/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.sa.mon/

Noun

σήσᾰμον • (sḗsămon) n (genitive σησᾰ́μου); second declension

sesame

Declension

Second declension of τὸ σήσᾰμον; τοῦ σησᾰ́μου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ σήσᾰμον tò sḗsămon	τὼ σησᾰ́μω tṑ sēsắmō	τᾰ̀ σήσᾰμᾰ tằ sḗsămă
Genitive	τοῦ σησᾰ́μου toû sēsắmou	τοῖν σησᾰ́μοιν toîn sēsắmoin	τῶν σησᾰ́μων tôn sēsắmōn
Dative	τῷ σησᾰ́μῳ tōî sēsắmōi	τοῖν σησᾰ́μοιν toîn sēsắmoin	τοῖς σησᾰ́μοις toîs sēsắmois
Accusative	τὸ σήσᾰμον tò sḗsămon	τὼ σησᾰ́μω tṑ sēsắmō	τᾰ̀ σήσᾰμᾰ tằ sḗsămă
Vocative	σήσᾰμον sḗsămon	σησᾰ́μω sēsắmō	σήσᾰμᾰ sḗsămă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

σησάμινος (sēsáminos)
σησαμοειδές (sēsamoeidés)
σησαμοειδής (sēsamoeidḗs)

Descendants

→ Latin: sēsamum, sīsamum n, sīsamon n, sēsamon n, sēsama f, sēsima f, sīsama f, sīsima f (Late Latin or Medieval Latin manuscript variants), sēsam n, schēsam n (Medieval Latin indeclinables)
- → Middle English: sisamie
  - English: sesame
- → English: sesamum (learned)