σήρ

See also: Σήρ

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Uncertain, but possibly ultimately from Old Chinese 絲 (*sə, “silk”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sɛ̌ːr/ → /sir/ → /sir/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sɛ̌ːr/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /se̝r/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /sir/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /sir/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /sir/

Noun

σήρ • (sḗr) m (genitive σηρός); third declension

1. silkworm
   • 110 CE – 180 CE, Pausanias Periegeta, Graeciae Descriptio 6.26.6

     ... ἔστιν ἐν τῇ γῇ ζωύφιόν σφισιν, ὃν σῆρα καλοῦσιν Ἕλληνες, ὑπὸ δὲ αὐτῶν Σηρῶν ἄλλο πού τι καὶ οὐ σὴρ ὀνομάζεται.

     ... there is in their land a little animal which the Greeks call sêrs, though the Seres themselves give it another name.

Declension

Third declension of ὁ σήρ; τοῦ σηρός (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ σήρ ho sḗr	τὼ σῆρε tṑ sêre	οἱ σῆρες hoi sêres
Genitive	τοῦ σηρός toû sērós	τοῖν σηροῖν toîn sēroîn	τῶν σηρῶν tôn sērôn
Dative	τῷ σηρῐ́ tôi sērí	τοῖν σηροῖν toîn sēroîn	τοῖς σηρσῐ́ / σηρσῐ́ν toîs sērsí(n)
Accusative	τὸν σῆρᾰ tòn sêra	τὼ σῆρε tṑ sêre	τοὺς σῆρᾰς toùs sêras
Vocative	σήρ sḗr	σῆρε sêre	σῆρες sêres
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• σηρῐκός (sērikós)

 

References

• “σήρ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press