ܣܝܪܐ

Classical Syriac

Etymology

Said conventionally to be from Ancient Greek σειρᾱ́ (seirā́, “cord, rope; chain”), surely partially for some semantic influence and plurals borrowed from dative plural σειραῖς (seiraîs) and accusative plural σειρᾱ́ς (seirā́s) true, although original Aramaic and Iranian origin is also constructible, see Arabic سَيْر (sayr, “strap”).

CAL groups the sense “construction dust” with better-known Judaeo-Aramaic סׅירָא (sīrā, “thorn”). We don’t know if and how this adds up. “Fine dust” may also come from the idea of a “fine web” or “mesh”. In Robert Payne Smith this is pulvis tenuis next to aranea tenuis, تُرَاب (turāb) and خَيْط الْعَنْكَبُوت (ḵayṭ al-ʕankabūt).

The sense of a “siren” is back-formed from ܣܼܝܪܹܼܝܢ (sīrīn) from Ancient Greek Σειρήν (Seirḗn) understood as absolute state plural, then formally combined with the “rope” word as both being things that draw someone in.

The ichthyonym is kind of obscure, occurring instead emphatic in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic and Jewish Babylonian Aramaic as צִיר (ṣīr, “the own juice wherein fish is conserved; fish brine”) and from this in Arabic صِير (ṣīr). Even the sense of a “strap” has both emphaticities in Arabic, سَيْر (sayr) and صَيْر (ṣayr), supposedly from Aramaic, so one may imagine that the term originally referred to a whole “line” or lure of fish gathered and conceptualized collectively due to the small size of its phenotype.

As we reach the “end” of a fishing line, note also Old Armenian ծայր (cayr, “end; edge”), Old Armenian սայր (sayr, “edge”) and Old Georgian წუერი (c̣ueri, “top; point”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [siɾɑ] (singular)
• IPA^(key): [siɾe] (plural)

Noun

ܣܼܝܪܵܐ • (sīrā) m (plural ܣܼܝܪ̈ܲܣ (sīras), and ܣܼܝܪ̈ܲܗܣ (sīras), and these may be singulars and their plural ܣܼܝܪܸ̈ܣ (sīres), and also a plural is ܣܼܝܪܹ̈ܐ (sīrē))

1. woven thread, twist
2. thread or warp in a loom
3. thong, shoe-lace
4. thread or filament of metal
5. chain
6. (figurative) chain, series
7. chain-mail
8. rope

   Synonym: ܡܲܪܫܵܐ (maršā)

9. (figurative) toil, cord
10. chapter, topical division of a book
11. (uncountable) construction dust or another pulverous substance covering the ground due to activity
12. fine spider's web
13. (Greek mythology) siren
14. dried and fermented river fish

References

• “syrˀ”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• “syrh”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• “ṣyr²”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Brockelmann, Carl (1928) Lexicon Syriacum (in Latin), 2nd edition, Halle: Max Niemeyer, published 1995, page 472b
• Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 94
• Payne Margoliouth, Jessie (1927) Supplement to the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Payne Smith, S.T.P., Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 232
• Payne Smith, Jessie (1903) A Compendious Syriac Dictionary Founded Upon the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Payne Smith, D.D., Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 376a
• Payne Smith, Robert (1879–1901) Thesaurus Syriacus (in Latin), Oxford: Clarendon Press, columns 2619–2620