σφήξ

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

Etymology

Generally considered to be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰey- (“bee”).[1] Beekes rejects this in favor of a Pre-Greek origin possibly shared with ψήν (psḗn, “gall-insect”). Or, possible connection with σφάκελος (sphákelos, “necrosis, spasm, convulsion”), referring to the sting, though the sense remains uncertain.[2]

Compare Latin fūcus (“drone, bee”).

Pronunciation
 

Noun

σφήξ • (sphḗx) m (genitive σφηκός); third declension

  1. wasp

Inflection
Third declension of ὁ σφήξ; τοῦ σφηκός (Attic)
Case / # Singular Dual Plural
Nominative ὁ σφήξ
ho sphḗx		 τὼ σφῆκε
tṑ sphêke		 οἱ σφῆκες
hoi sphêkes
Genitive τοῦ σφηκός
toû sphēkós		 τοῖν σφηκοῖν
toîn sphēkoîn		 τῶν σφηκῶν
tôn sphēkôn
Dative τῷ σφηκῐ́
tôi sphēkí		 τοῖν σφηκοῖν
toîn sphēkoîn		 τοῖς σφηξῐ́ / σφηξῐ́ν
toîs sphēxí(n)
Accusative τὸν σφῆκᾰ
tòn sphêka		 τὼ σφῆκε
tṑ sphêke		 τοὺς σφῆκᾰς
toùs sphêkas
Vocative σφήξ
sphḗx		 σφῆκε
sphêke		 σφῆκες
sphêkes
Notes:
  • This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

Descendants
  • Greek: σφήκα (sfíka)
  • Translingual (genus name): Sphex
  • → English: sphex

References
  • “σφήξ”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • σφήξ in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
  • σφήξ in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
  • Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
    • wasp idem, page 964.
  • Edward Ross Wharton (1890) Etyma Graeca: an etymological lexicon of classical Greek, New York: Rivingtons
  1. Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q. (2006) The Oxford introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European world, Oxford University Press
  2. 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
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