ἄσαρον
Ancient Greek
Etymology
Unknown. Clearly related to some names of coltsfoot given by 1st century interpolations to Dioskurides, ἀσᾶ (asâ) with the Thracians of Βῆσσα, σααρθρά (saarthrá) with the Egyptians. Hazelwort and coltsfoot sharing a name by superficial similarity is well-known, both being meanings of Proto-Slavic *kopytъnikъ, and from coltsfoot one even went to dock with Proto-Kartvelian *ṭerep-.
Pronunciation
- (5th BCE Attic) IPA(key): /á.sa.ron/
- (1st CE Egyptian) IPA(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/
- (4th CE Koine) IPA(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/
- (10th CE Byzantine) IPA(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/
- (15th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/
Noun
ᾰ̓́σᾰρον • (ắsăron) n (genitive ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρου); second declension
- hazelwort (Asarum europaeum)
- Synonym: βάκκαρις (bákkaris)
Inflection
| Case / # | Singular | Dual | Plural | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | τὸ ᾰ̓́σᾰρον tò ắsăron |
τὼ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρω tṑ ăsắrō |
τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́σᾰρᾰ tằ ắsără | ||||||||||
| Genitive | τοῦ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρου toû ăsắrou |
τοῖν ᾰ̓σᾰ́ροιν toîn ăsắroin |
τῶν ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρων tôn ăsắrōn | ||||||||||
| Dative | τῷ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρῳ tōî ăsắrōi |
τοῖν ᾰ̓σᾰ́ροιν toîn ăsắroin |
τοῖς ᾰ̓σᾰ́ροις toîs ăsắrois | ||||||||||
| Accusative | τὸ ᾰ̓́σᾰρον tò ắsăron |
τὼ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρω tṑ ăsắrō |
τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́σᾰρᾰ tằ ắsără | ||||||||||
| Vocative | ᾰ̓́σᾰρον ắsăron |
ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρω ăsắrō |
ᾰ̓́σᾰρᾰ ắsără | ||||||||||
| Notes: |
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Descendants
Further reading
- “ἄσαρον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ἄσαρον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
- ἄσαρον in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
- Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄσαρον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 147, of course proposing a Pre-Greek origin, comparing the word with ἀρίσαρον (arísaron), which appears to contain both ἄρον (áron) and ᾰ̓́σᾰρον (ắsăron); see also ἡδύσαρον (hēdúsaron) and σίσᾰρον (sísăron).
- Lewy, Heinrich (1895) Die semitischen Fremdwörter im Griechischen (in German), Berlin: R. Gaertner’s Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 47, of course suggests a Semitic origin, by a hapax nonsensically translated as “sneezing” Jewish Literary Aramaic זרירוהי that CAL wants to emend away to זריזוהי, apparently then meaning “valiance”.