sycophanta

Latin

Alternative forms

• sūcophanta

Etymology

From Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophántēs, “slanderer”), from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I show”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /syː.koˈpʰan.ta/, [s̠yːkɔˈpʰän̪t̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /si.koˈfan.ta/, [sikoˈfän̪t̪ä]

Noun

sȳcophanta m (genitive sȳcophantae); first declension

1. A snitch, informant
2. A slanderer
3. A trickster

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	sȳcophanta	sȳcophantae
Genitive	sȳcophantae	sȳcophantārum
Dative	sȳcophantae	sȳcophantīs
Accusative	sȳcophantam	sȳcophantās
Ablative	sȳcophantā	sȳcophantīs
Vocative	sȳcophanta	sȳcophantae

Descendants

• French: sycophante
• Spanish: sicofanta

References

• “sycophanta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sycophanta”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sycophanta in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.