ψάμαθος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Usually taken as a cross of ψάμμος (psámmos, “sand”) and ἄμαθος (ámathos, “sand”). Furnée adduces Proto-Germanic *samdaz (“sand”), so it could also directly continue a word from Proto-Indo-European *sámh₂dʰos (“sand”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /psá.ma.tʰos/ → /ˈpsa.ma.θos/ → /ˈpsa.ma.θos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /psá.ma.tʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.ma.tʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.ma.θos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.ma.θos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈpsa.ma.θos/

Noun

ψάμαθος • (psámathos) f (genitive ψαμάθου); second declension

1. sand of the seashore
2. (in the plural) grains of sand
3. countless multitude

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ψάμαθος; τῆς ψαμάθου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ψάμαθος hē psámathos	τὼ ψαμάθω tṑ psamáthō	αἱ ψάμαθοι hai psámathoi
Genitive	τῆς ψαμάθου tês psamáthou	τοῖν ψαμάθοιν toîn psamáthoin	τῶν ψαμάθων tôn psamáthōn
Dative	τῇ ψαμάθῳ têi psamáthōi	τοῖν ψαμάθοιν toîn psamáthoin	ταῖς ψαμάθοις taîs psamáthois
Accusative	τὴν ψάμαθον tḕn psámathon	τὼ ψαμάθω tṑ psamáthō	τᾱ̀ς ψαμάθους tā̀s psamáthous
Vocative	ψάμαθε psámathe	ψαμάθω psamáthō	ψάμαθοι psámathoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• πολυψάμαθος (polupsámathos)
• ψαμαθηΐς (psamathēḯs)
• ψαμαθία (psamathía)
• ψαμαθίς (psamathís)
• Ψαμαθοῦς (Psamathoûs)
• ψαμαθώδης (psamathṓdēs)

 

Further reading

• “ψάμαθος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ψάμαθος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• 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