φθείρ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain. Has been linked to φθείρω (phtheírō, “to ruin, to destroy”) which is of Indo-European origin, though the connection is doubtful and considered as a folk etymology.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pʰtʰěːr/ → /ɸθir/ → /fθir/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pʰtʰěːr/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /pʰtʰir/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɸθir/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /fθir/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /fθir/

Noun

φθείρ • (phtheír) m (genitive φθειρός); third declension

1. louse
   • 161 CE – 180 CE, Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 3.3:

     Δημόκριτον δὲ οἱ φθεῖρες, Σωκράτην δὲ ἄλλοι φθεῖρες ἀπέκτειναν.

     Dēmókriton dè hoi phtheîres, Sōkrátēn dè álloi phtheîres apékteinan.

     Democritus was killed by lice, and lice of another kind killed Socrates.

Inflection

Third declension of ὁ φθείρ; τοῦ φθειρός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ φθείρ ho phtheír	τὼ φθεῖρε tṑ phtheîre	οἱ φθεῖρες hoi phtheîres
Genitive	τοῦ φθειρός toû phtheirós	τοῖν φθειροῖν toîn phtheiroîn	τῶν φθειρῶν tôn phtheirôn
Dative	τῷ φθειρῐ́ tôi phtheirí	τοῖν φθειροῖν toîn phtheiroîn	τοῖς φθειρσῐ́ / φθειρσῐ́ν toîs phtheirsí(n)
Accusative	τὸν φθεῖρᾰ tòn phtheîra	τὼ φθεῖρε tṑ phtheîre	τοὺς φθεῖρᾰς toùs phtheîras
Vocative	φθείρ phtheír	φθεῖρε phtheîre	φθεῖρες phtheîres
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• φθειροκτόνον (phtheiroktónon)
• φθειρίον (phtheiríon)
• φθειρώδης (phtheirṓdēs)
• φθειράριος (phtheirários)
• φθειριάω (phtheiriáō)
• φθειρίζομαι (phtheirízomai)

Descendants

• Mariupol Greek: фтыр (ftyr)
• Cypriot Greek: φτείρα (fteíra)

References

• “φθείρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN