σῖτος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, though probably of Indo-European origin. Similar words in other languages include Proto-Balto-Slavic *géiˀta (“grain, corn”), Proto-Germanic *hwaitijaz (“wheat”), Basque zitu (“corn, harvest”), and Sumerian [script needed] (zid, “flour”), which are often taken as donor languages to Greek.

A more recent theory by Janda has explained it as the substantivization of an adjective *σῑτό- (*sītó-, “threshed”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *tih₂-tó- (“struck”), a participle from the newly suggested verbal root *tyeh₂- (“to strike, hit”), which is apparently also seen in Hittite [script needed] (zāḫ-ᶦ, “to hit, beat”). Then σῆμα (sêma, “sign, mark”) (< *tiéh₂-mn (“what is carved”)), σῶμα (sôma, “corpse”) (< *tióh₂-mn (“the killed one”)), and σῑμός (sīmós, “snub-nosed”) (< *tih₂-mó- (“flattened”)) could be related. Beekes is doubtful of Janda's derivation, due to the wide range of supposed meanings within only one language (Greek) and the lack of a direct "strike" meaning within Greek.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sîː.tos/ → /ˈsi.tos/ → /ˈsi.tos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sîː.tos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.tos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.tos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.tos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.tos/

Noun

σῖτος • (sîtos) m (genitive σῑ́του); second declension

1. grain; corn (in the British sense, encompassing wheat and barley, the cereal grains used by the ancient Greeks)
2. grains and lentils

   Hyponyms: πῡρός (pūrós), κρῑθή (krīthḗ), ὄλῡρᾰ (ólūră), φᾰκός (phăkós)

3. bread (as opposed to meat)

   Synonym: ᾰ̓́ρτος (ắrtos)

4. food (as opposed to drink)

Usage notes

• Although σῖτος (sîtos) is masculine, it declines as neuter in the plural.

Declension

Second declension of ὁ σῖτος; τοῦ σῑ́του (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ σῖτος ho sîtos	τὼ σῑ́τω tṑ sī́tō	τᾰ̀ σῖτᾰ tằ sîtă
Genitive	τοῦ σῑ́του toû sī́tou	τοῖν σῑ́τοιν toîn sī́toin	τῶν σῑ́των tôn sī́tōn
Dative	τῷ σῑ́τῳ tōî sī́tōi	τοῖν σῑ́τοιν toîn sī́toin	τοῖς σῑ́τοις toîs sī́tois
Accusative	τὸν σῖτον tòn sîton	τὼ σῑ́τω tṑ sī́tō	τᾰ̀ σῖτᾰ tằ sîtă
Vocative	σῖτε sîte	σῑ́τω sī́tō	σῖτᾰ sîtă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Second declension of σῖτος; σῑ́τοιο / σῑ́τοο / σῑ́του (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	σῖτος sîtos	σῑ́τω sī́tō	σῖτᾰ sîtă
Genitive	σῑ́τοιο / σῑ́τοο / σῑ́του sī́toio / sī́too / sī́tou	σῑ́τοιῐ̈ν sī́toiĭ̈n	σῑ́των sī́tōn
Dative	σῑ́τῳ sī́tōi	σῑ́τοιῐ̈ν sī́toiĭ̈n	σῑ́τοισῐ / σῑ́τοισῐν / σῑ́τοις sī́toisĭ(n) / sī́tois
Accusative	σῖτον sîton	σῑ́τω sī́tō	σῖτᾰ sîtă
Vocative	σῖτε sîte	σῑ́τω sī́tō	σῖτᾰ sîtă
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Second declension of ὁ σῖτος; τοῦ σῑ́του (Ionic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ σῖτος ho sîtos	τὼ σῑ́τω tṑ sī́tō	τᾰ̀ σῖτᾰ tằ sîtă
Genitive	τοῦ σῑ́του toû sī́tou	τοῖν σῑ́τοιν toîn sī́toin	τῶν σῑ́των tôn sī́tōn
Dative	τῷ σῑ́τῳ tōî sī́tōi	τοῖν σῑ́τοιν toîn sī́toin	τοῖσῐ σῑ́τοισῐ / σῑ́τοισῐν toîsĭ sī́toisĭ / sī́toisĭn
Accusative	τὸν σῖτον tòn sîton	τὼ σῑ́τω tṑ sī́tō	τᾰ̀ σῖτᾰ tằ sîtă
Vocative	σῖτε sîte	σῑ́τω sī́tō	σῖτᾰ sîtă
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• ᾰ̓́σῑτος (ắsītos)
• πᾰρᾰ́σῑτος (părắsītos)
• Σῑτᾰ́λκης (Sītắlkēs)
• σῑτᾰ́ρῐον (sītắrĭon)
• σῑτᾰ́ρκησῐς (sītắrkēsĭs)
• σῑτῐκός (sītĭkós)
• σῑ́τῐνος (sī́tĭnos)
• σῑτῐ́ον (sītĭ́on)
• σῑτοποιέω (sītopoiéō)
• σῑτοποιῐ̈́ᾱ (sītopoiĭ̈́ā)
• σῑτοφᾰ́γος (sītophắgos)

Descendants

• Greek: σίτος (sítos)
• → English: sito-
• → Italian: sito-

Further reading

• “σῖτος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• σῖτος in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• σῖτος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• G4621 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.
  • aliment idem, page 22.
  • bread idem, page 94.
  • cereals idem, page 122.
  • commissariat idem, page 148.
  • corn idem, page 174.
  • eatables idem, page 260.
  • fare idem, page 307.
  • food idem, page 333.
  • forage idem, page 334.
  • fruit idem, page 347.
  • grain idem, page 369.
  • grist idem, page 374.
  • meal idem, page 519.
  • meat idem, page 521.
  • produce idem, page 644.
  • provender idem, page 654.
  • provision idem, page 654.
  • refection idem, page 684.
  • refreshment idem, page 685.
  • supplies idem, page 840.
  • sustenance idem, page 846.
  • viands idem, page 950.
  • victuals idem, page 951.