φθείρω

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *kʷʰtʰéřřō, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰgʷʰér-ye-ti, from *dʰgʷʰer- (flow, diverge; perish) via the middle form φθείρομαι (phtheíromai, to be destroyed, perish) with new active meaning destroy. Cognate to Sanskrit क्षरति (kṣárati, flows, diverges; disappears), Avestan 𐬖𐬲𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (γžaraiti, flows, streams).

Pronunciation

 

Verb

φθείρω • (phtheírō)

  1. to destroy
  2. to ruin, spoil

Usage notes

The compound verb διαφθείρω (diaphtheírō) is much more frequent than the simple verb.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Greek: φθείρω (ftheíro) (learned)

Further reading

Greek

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek φθείρω (phtheírō).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfθi.ɾo/
  • Hyphenation: φθεί‧ρω

Verb

φθείρω • (ftheíro) (imperfect έφθειρα, past έφθειρα, passive φθείρομαι, p‑past φθάρθηκα/φθάρηκα, ppp φθαρμένος) (transitive)

  1. to wear away, to erode
  2. to corrode
  3. (figuratively) to erode (to destroy gradually by an ongoing process)
  4. to wear out (to cause (something) to become damaged, useless, or ineffective through continued use, especially hard, heavy, or careless use)

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

References

  1. ^ φθείρω, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998 at the Centre for the Greek language