σῦφαρ

σῦφαρ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Traditionally compared with Latin sūber (“cork oak”), in spite of the semantic difficulties. If correct, they are probably borrowings from a common source. According to Pisani, it is related to ὕφεαρ (húphear, “mistletoe”), but semantically this is hardly possible. Beekes argues for a Pre-Greek origin of the word.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sŷː.pʰar/ → /ˈsy.ɸar/ → /ˈsi.far/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sŷː.pʰar/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsy.pʰar/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsy.ɸar/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsy.far/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.far/

Noun

σῦφαρ • (sûphar) n (indeclinable)

1. piece of old or wrinkled skin
2. wrinkled, decrepit person
3. slough of a serpent

   Synonym: λεβηρίς (lebērís)

4. skim of milk, scum
5. wrinkled fig

Further reading

• σῦφαρ in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σῦφαρ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN