σαφής

σαφής

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Most likely Pre-Greek. Connections to Latin pāreō can be dismissed based on the fact that ph comes from an aspirated PIE consonant.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sa.pʰɛ̌ːs/ → /saˈɸis/ → /saˈfis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sa.pʰɛ̌ːs/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /saˈpʰe̝s/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /saˈɸis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /saˈfis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /saˈfis/

Adjective

σᾰφής • (saphḗs) m or f (neuter σᾰφές); third declension (Doric, Ionic, Attic, Koine)

1. (of something seen with the eyes, or of something understood with the mind) clear, distinct
   • 458 BCE, Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1047:

     σοί τοι λέγουσα παύεται σαφῆ λόγον

     soí toi légousa paúetai saphê lógon

     She has stopped speaking a clear word to you

   • 460 BCE – 395 BCE, Thucydides, 1 35:

     τὰ ξυμφέροντα ἀποδείκνυμεν, καὶ μέγιστον ὅτι οἵ τε αὐτοὶ πολέμιοι ἡμῖν ἦσαν, ὅπερ σαφεστάτη πίστις

     tà xumphéronta apodeíknumen, kaì mégiston hóti hoí te autoì polémioi hēmîn êsan, hóper saphestátē pístis

     we show the advantages, and the greatest is that the same people are enemies to us both, which is a very clear guarantee of good faith

2. (of a person) speaking clearly, reliable
   • 467 BCE, Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes 82:

     ἄναυδος σαφὴς ἔτυμος ἄγγελος

     ánaudos saphḕs étumos ángelos

     a silent, unerring, truthful messenger

   • 429 BCE, Sophocles, Oedipus the King 390:

     ἐπεί, φέρ’ εἰπέ, ποῦ σὺ μάντις εἶ σαφής;

     epeí, phér’ eipé, poû sù mántis eî saphḗs?

     So come on, tell me, when have you been a reliable seer

Declension

Third declension of σᾰφής; σᾰφές (contracted, Attic)

Number		Singular			Dual			Plural
Case/Gender		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter		Masculine / Feminine	Neuter
Nominative		σᾰφής saphḗs	σᾰφές saphés		σᾰφεῖ sapheî	σᾰφεῖ sapheî		σᾰφεῖς sapheîs	σᾰφῆ saphê
Genitive		σᾰφοῦς saphoûs	σᾰφοῦς saphoûs		σᾰφοῖν saphoîn	σᾰφοῖν saphoîn		σᾰφῶν saphôn	σᾰφῶν saphôn
Dative		σᾰφεῖ sapheî	σᾰφεῖ sapheî		σᾰφοῖν saphoîn	σᾰφοῖν saphoîn		σᾰφέσῐ / σᾰφέσῐν saphési(n)	σᾰφέσῐ / σᾰφέσῐν saphési(n)
Accusative		σᾰφῆ saphê	σᾰφές saphés		σᾰφεῖ sapheî	σᾰφεῖ sapheî		σᾰφεῖς sapheîs	σᾰφῆ saphê
Vocative		σᾰφές saphés	σᾰφές saphés		σᾰφεῖ sapheî	σᾰφεῖ sapheî		σᾰφεῖς sapheîs	σᾰφῆ saphê
Derived forms		Adverb			Comparative			Superlative
		σᾰφῶς saphôs			σᾰφέστερος saphésteros			σᾰφέστᾰτος saphéstatos
Notes:		This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ἀσᾰφής (asaphḗs)

Further reading

• “σαφής”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σαφής in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette