ἀψίνθιον

Ancient Greek

ἀψίνθιον

Alternative forms

  • ἄψινθος (ápsinthos), ἀψινθία (apsinthía), ἀψινθή (apsinthḗ), ἀψίνθιν (apsínthin), ἀσπίνθιον (aspínthion)

Etymology

The cluster -ινθ- (-inth-) suggests a Pre-Greek source, as in τέρμινθος (términthos, terebinth), ἐρέβινθος (erébinthos, chickpea), μίνθη (mínthē, mint), ὑάκινθος (huákinthos, hyacinth), πλίνθος (plínthos, brick), μήρινθος (mḗrinthos, cord, line), κήρινθος (kḗrinthos, bee bread), λαβύρινθος (labúrinthos, labyrinth).[1][2] Also, the variant ἀσπίνθιον (aspínthion) with /sp/ instead of /ps/ may point to borrowing from Pre-Greek.[3][4]

Related to the source of Old Armenian աւշինդր (awšindr, wormwood).

Pronunciation

 

Noun

ἀψίνθιον • (apsínthion) n (genitive ἀψινθίου); second declension

  1. wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
    • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Anabasis 1.5.1:
      Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ τόπῳ ἦν μὲν ἡ γῆ πεδίον ἅπαν ὁμαλὲς ὥσπερ θάλαττα, ἀψινθίου δὲ πλῆρες·
      En toútōi dè tôi tópōi ên mèn hē gê pedíon hápan homalès hṓsper thálatta, apsinthíou dè plêres;
      In this region the ground was all a plain, flat like the sea, and full of wormwood.
  2. vermouth, wine spiced by wormwood

Inflection

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Greek: αψίνθιον (apsínthion) (Katharevousa), αψινθιά (apsinthiá), αψιθιά (apsithiá)
  • Arabic: أَفْسِنْتِين (ʔafsintīn), إِفْسَنْتِين (ʔifsantīn)
    • Persian: افسنتین
      • Gujarati: અફસંતીન (aphasantīn)
      • Hindi: अफ़संतीन (afsantīn)
      • Punjabi: ਅਫਸੰਤੀਨ (aphasantīn)
  • Aramaic:
    Galilean: אפסינתינון (ap̄sinṭīnōn)
    Babylonian: אפסנתין (ap̄sinṭīn)
    Syriac: ܐܦܣܢܬܝܢ (ap̄sinṭīn), ܐܦܣܢܬܝܘܢ (ap̄sinṭiōn)
  • Latin: absinthium (see there for further descendants)
  • Old Georgian: აფსინდი (apsindi), აფსინთი (apsinti)

References

  1. 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, page xxxviii:72. -ινθ-(ο-)
  2. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014) Stefan Norbruis, editor, Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 37:81 -ινθ-(ο-)
  3. 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, page xxvi:6a. ψ / σπ, b. ξ / σκ.
  4. Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014) Stefan Norbruis, editor, Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 18:6. a. ψ / σπ, b. ξ / σκ.

Further reading

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