σάρξ

See also: σαρξ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• σύρξ (súrx) — Aeolic

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *súrks, *swə́rks, originally denoting "a piece of meat", from Proto-Indo-European *turḱ-s, a zero-grade s-stem nominal from the root *twerḱ- (“to cut”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sárks/ → /ˈsarks/ → /ˈsarks/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sárks/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsarks/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsarks/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsarks/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsarks/

Noun

σᾰ́ρξ • (sắrx) f (genitive σᾰρκός); third declension

1. the material which covers the bones of a creature; flesh
2. body
3. the edible flesh of a fruit
4. the seat of animalistic, immoral desires and thoughts, such as lust
5. (Christianity) the physical or natural order (as opposed to the spiritual)

Usage notes

Homer uses σᾰ́ρξ (sắrx) almost entirely in the plural, with the singular usage specifying a specific part of the body. Later writers use the singular without this distinction.

Declension

Third declension of ἡ σᾰ́ρξ; τῆς σᾰρκός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σᾰ́ρξ hē sắrx	τὼ σᾰ́ρκε tṑ sắrke	αἱ σᾰ́ρκες hai sắrkes
Genitive	τῆς σᾰρκός tês sărkós	τοῖν σᾰρκοῖν toîn sărkoîn	τῶν σᾰρκῶν tôn sărkôn
Dative	τῇ σᾰρκῐ́ tēî sărkĭ́	τοῖν σᾰρκοῖν toîn sărkoîn	ταῖς σᾰρξῐ́ / σᾰρξῐ́ν taîs sărxĭ́(n)
Accusative	τὴν σᾰ́ρκᾰ tḕn sắrkă	τὼ σᾰ́ρκε tṑ sắrke	τᾱ̀ς σᾰ́ρκᾰς tā̀s sắrkăs
Vocative	σᾰ́ρξ sắrx	σᾰ́ρκε sắrke	σᾰ́ρκες sắrkes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Third declension of σᾰ́ρξ; σᾰρκός (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	σᾰ́ρξ sắrx	σᾰ́ρκε sắrke	σᾰ́ρκες sắrkes
Genitive	σᾰρκός sărkós	σᾰρκοῖῐ̈ν sărkoîĭ̈n	σᾰρκῶν sărkôn
Dative	σᾰρκῐ́ sărkĭ́	σᾰρκοῖῐ̈ν sărkoîĭ̈n	σᾰρξῐ́ / σᾰρξῐ́ν / σᾰ́ρκεσῐ / σᾰ́ρκεσῐν / σᾰ́ρκεσσῐ / σᾰ́ρκεσσῐν sărxĭ́(n) / sắrkesĭ(n) / sắrkessĭ(n)
Accusative	σᾰ́ρκᾰ sắrkă	σᾰ́ρκε sắrke	σᾰ́ρκᾰς sắrkăs
Vocative	σᾰ́ρξ sắrx	σᾰ́ρκε sắrke	σᾰ́ρκες sắrkes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Third declension of ἡ σᾰ́ρξ; τῆς σᾰρκός (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σᾰ́ρξ hē sắrx	τὼ σᾰ́ρκε tṑ sắrke	αἱ σᾰ́ρκες hai sắrkes
Genitive	τῆς σᾰρκός tês sărkós	τοῖν σᾰρκοῖν toîn sărkoîn	τῶν σᾰρκῶν tôn sărkôn
Dative	τῇ σᾰρκῐ́ tēî sărkĭ́	τοῖν σᾰρκοῖν toîn sărkoîn	τῇσῐ / τῇσῐν σᾰρξῐ́ / σᾰρξῐ́ν tēîsĭ(n) sărxĭ́(n)
Accusative	τὴν σᾰ́ρκᾰ tḕn sắrkă	τὼ σᾰ́ρκε tṑ sắrke	τᾱ̀ς σᾰ́ρκᾰς tā̀s sắrkăs
Vocative	σᾰ́ρξ sắrx	σᾰ́ρκε sắrke	σᾰ́ρκες sắrkes
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ἄσᾰρκος (ásărkos)
• σᾰρκάζω (sărkázō)
• σᾰρκασμός (sărkasmós)
• σᾰρκικός (sărkikós)
• σᾰρκοκόλλα (sărkokólla)
• σᾰρκολᾰβῐ́ς (sărkolăbĭ́s)
• σᾰρκόμφᾰλον (sărkómphălon)
• σᾰρκοφάγος (sărkophágos)

Descendants

• → Coptic: ⲥⲁⲣⲝ (sarks)
• Greek: σάρκα (sárka, “flesh”)
• Albanian: shark

Further reading

• “σάρξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σάρξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001), A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• σάρξ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G4561 in Strong, James (1979), Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910), English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • carrion idem, page 115.
  • flesh idem, page 327.
• The PIE root *tu̯erk̑-
• σάρξ, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011