sycophanta

Latin

Alternative forms

• sūcophanta

Etymology

From Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sukophántēs, “slanderer”), from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + φαίνω (phaínō, “I show”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /syː.koˈpʰan.ta/, [s̠yːkɔˈpʰän̪t̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /si.koˈfan.ta/, [sikoˈfän̪t̪ä]

Noun

sȳcophanta m (genitive sȳcophantae); first declension

1. A snitch, informant
2. A slanderer
3. A trickster

Declension

First-declension noun

	singular	plural
nominative	sȳcophanta	sȳcophantae
genitive	sȳcophantae	sȳcophantārum
dative	sȳcophantae	sȳcophantīs
accusative	sȳcophantam	sȳcophantās
ablative	sȳcophantā	sȳcophantīs
vocative	sȳcophanta	sȳcophantae

Descendants

• → English: sycophant
• → French: sycophante
• → Spanish: sicofanta (learned)

References

• “sycophanta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sycophanta”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sycophanta in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.