σίλφη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• τῐ́λφη (tílphē)

Etymology

The variant could be an artificial Atticism or show a Pre-Greek alternation σ-/τ-. The form semantically and formally resembles σέρφος (sérphos, “small winged insect”), while Furnée connects Latin delpa (“kind of insect”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /síl.pʰɛː/ → /ˈsil.ɸi/ → /ˈsil.fi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /síl.pʰɛː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsil.pʰe̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsil.ɸi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsil.fi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsil.fi/

Noun

σῐ́λφη • (sílphē) f (genitive σῐ́λφης); first declension

1. cockroach (Blattella germanica)

Inflection

First declension of ἡ σῐ́λφη; τῆς σῐ́λφης (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ σῐ́λφη hē sílphē	τὼ σῐ́λφᾱ tṑ sílphā	αἱ σῐ́λφαι hai sílphai
Genitive	τῆς σῐ́λφης tês sílphēs	τοῖν σῐ́λφαιν toîn sílphain	τῶν σῐλφῶν tôn silphôn
Dative	τῇ σῐ́λφῃ têi sílphēi	τοῖν σῐ́λφαιν toîn sílphain	ταῖς σῐ́λφαις taîs sílphais
Accusative	τὴν σῐ́λφην tḕn sílphēn	τὼ σῐ́λφᾱ tṑ sílphā	τᾱ̀ς σῐ́λφᾱς tā̀s sílphās
Vocative	σῐ́λφη sílphē	σῐ́λφᾱ sílphā	σῐ́λφαι sílphai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Translingual: Silpha

Further reading

• “σίλφη”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σίλφη in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “σίλφη”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 1332