Sophocles

English

Bust of Sophocles.

Etymology

From Latin Sophoclēs from Ancient Greek Σοφοκλῆς (Sophoklês).

Pronunciation

• enPR: sŏfŏklēs, sŏfəklēs, IPA^(key): /ˈsɑ.fɑ.kliːz/, /ˈsɒ.fək.kliːz/

Proper noun

Sophocles

1. A Greek dramatic poet (ca. 497 BCE – 405 BCE); Sophocles was one of the three greatest Greek tragedians. In the Athenian dramatic competitions of the Festival of Dionysus, he won more first prizes (around 20) than any other playwright, and placed second in all others he participated in. He is best remembered for his Oedipus Cycle of plays.
2. A male given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to Ancient Greek Σοφοκλῆς (Sophoklês) or Greek Σοφοκλής (Sofoklís).

Related terms

• Sophoclean

Translations

Greek dramatic poet

• Arabic: سُوفُوكْلِيس m (sufuklis)
• Armenian: Սոփոկլես (Sopʻokles)

  Old Armenian: Սոփոկղէս (Sopʻokłēs)

• Asturian: Sófocles m
• Basque: Sofokles
• Bulgarian: Софо́къл m (Sofókǎl)
• Catalan: Sòfocles m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 索福克勒斯 (zh) (Suǒfúkèlèsī)

• Czech: Sofoklés m
• Danish: Sofokles
• Dutch: Sophocles m
• Esperanto: Sofoklo
• Estonian: Sophokles
• Finnish: Sofokles (fi)
• French: Sophocle (fr) m
• Galician: Sófocles m
• Georgian: სოფოკლე (sopoḳle)
• German: Sophokles m
• Greek: Σοφοκλής (el) m (Sofoklís)

  Ancient: Σοφοκλῆς m (Sophoklês)

• Hebrew: סופוקלס m
• Hungarian: Szophoklész (hu)
• Icelandic: Sófókles m
• Italian: Sofocle m
• Japanese: ソフォクレス (Sofokuresu), ソポクレス (Sopokuresu)
• Korean: 소포클레스 (Sopokeulleseu)
• Latin: Sophocles m
• Lithuanian: Sofoklis m
• Macedonian: Софокле (Sofokle)
• Marathi: सोफोक्लेस m (sophokles)
• Norwegian: Sofokles m
• Occitan: Sofòcles m
• Polish: Sofokles (pl) m
• Portuguese: Sófocles m
• Quechua: Sophokles
• Romanian: Sofocle
• Russian: Софо́кл m (Sofókl)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Софокле m, Софокло m

  Roman: Sofokle, Sofoklo

• Sicilian: Sòfocli m, Sofucli m
• Slovak: Sofokles m
• Spanish: Sófocles
• Swedish: Sofokles
• Turkish: Sofokles
• Ukrainian: Софо́кл m (Sofókl)

See also

• Aeschylus
• Euripides

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Σοφοκλῆς (Sophoklês).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈso.pʰo.kleːs/, [ˈs̠ɔpʰɔkɫ̪eːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈso.fo.kles/, [ˈsɔːfokles]

Proper noun

Sophoclēs m sg (variously declined, genitive Sophoclis or Sophoclī); third declension, first declension

1. Sophocles of Colonus, a celebrated Greek dramatic poet (ca. 497 BCE – 405 BCE); Sophocles was one of the three greatest Greek tragedians. In the Athenian dramatic competitions of the Festival of Dionysus, he won more first prizes (around 20) than any other playwright, and placed second in all others he participated in. He is best remembered for his Oedipus Cycle of plays.
2. a male given name from Ancient Greek, equivalent to Ancient Greek Σοφοκλῆς (Sophoklês) or Greek Σοφοκλής (Sofoklís)

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem) or first-declension noun (masculine Greek-type with nominative singular in -ēs), singular only.

Case	Singular
Nominative	Sophoclēs
Genitive	Sophoclis Sophoclī
Dative	Sophoclī Sophoclae
Accusative	Sophoclem Sophoclēa
Ablative	Sophocle Sophoclē
Vocative	Sophoclēs Sophoclē

Related terms

• Sophoclēus (“in the manner of Sophocles”)

Descendants

• Asturian: Sófocles
• Catalan: Sòfocles
• → Dutch: Sophocles
• → English: Sophocles
• French: Sophocle
• Galician: Sófocles
• Italian: Sofocle
• Occitan: Sofòcles
• Portuguese: Sófocles
• Romanian: Sofocle
• Sicilian: Sòfocli, Sofucli
• Spanish: Sófocles

See also

• Aeschylus
• Eurīpidēs

Further reading

• “Sŏphŏcles”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Sŏphŏclēs in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1458/2.
• Sophoclēs in Georges, Karl Ernst, Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918) Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 2, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, column 2730