φορβή

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From φέρβω (phérbō, “to feed”) +‎ -η (-ē, abstract noun suffix). The first element is of uncertain origin; Pokorny suggests Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (“to grow (of plants)”), Beekes calls it an agrarian loan from a substrate.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /pʰor.bɛ̌ː/ → /ɸorˈβi/ → /forˈvi/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /pʰor.bɛ̌ː/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /pʰorˈbe̝/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ɸorˈβi/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /forˈvi/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /forˈvi/

Noun

φορβή • (phorbḗ) f (genitive φορβῆς); first declension (Homeric)

1. (Homeric) forage, fodder, food, booty

Inflection

First declension of φορβή; φορβῆς (Epic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	φορβή phorbḗ	φορβᾱ́ phorbā́	φορβαί phorbaí
Genitive	φορβῆς phorbês	φορβαῖν / φορβαῖῐν / φορβῇῐν phorbaî(i)n / phorbêiin	φορβᾱ́ων / φορβέ͜ων / φορβῶν phorbā́ōn / phorbé͜ōn / phorbôn
Dative	φορβῇ phorbêi	φορβαῖν / φορβαῖῐν / φορβῇῐν phorbaî(i)n / phorbêiin	φορβῇσῐ / φορβῇσῐν / φορβῇς / φορβαῖς phorbêisi(n) / phorbêis / phorbaîs
Accusative	φορβήν phorbḗn	φορβᾱ́ phorbā́	φορβᾱ́ς phorbā́s
Vocative	φορβή phorbḗ	φορβᾱ́ phorbā́	φορβαί phorbaí
Notes:	Dialects other than Attic are not well attested. Some forms may be based on conjecture. Use with caution.

Derived terms

• Εὔφορβος (Eúphorbos)

Further reading

• “φορβή”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “φορβή”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• φορβή in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• “φορβή”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • booty idem, page 89.
  • food idem, page 333.
  • prey idem, page 639.

References

• Pokorny, Julius, Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, Tübingen: A. Francke Verlag, 1959.
• Beekes, Robert, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Leiden, Netherlands, Brill, 2010.