ψιμύθιον

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• ψῑμίθῐον (psīmíthĭon), ψιμμύθῐον (psimmúthĭon), ψιμμίθῐον (psimmíthĭon)
• ψημυθῐον (psēmuthĭon) — Aeolic

Etymology

From ψῑ́μυθος (psī́muthos) +‎ -ῐον (-ĭon, diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /psiː.mý.tʰi.on/ → /psiˈmy.θi.on/ → /psiˈmi.θi.on/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /psiː.mý.tʰi.on/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /psiˈmy.tʰi.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /psiˈmy.θi.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /psiˈmy.θi.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /psiˈmi.θi.on/

Noun

ψῑμύθῐον • (psīmúthĭon) n (genitive ψῑμῠθῐ́ου); second declension

1. diminutive of ψῑ́μυθος (psī́muthos): white lead (as a pigment to whiten the face or hair)
   • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Oeconomicus 10.2
   • 400 BCE – 387 BCE, Plato, Lysis 217d
   • 391 BCE, Aristophanes, Assemblywomen 878
   • 391 BCE, Aristophanes, Assemblywomen 929
   • 391 BCE, Aristophanes, Assemblywomen 1072
   • 331 CE – 363 CE, Julian, Orations 7.233b

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ψῑμῠ́θῐον; τοῦ ψῑμῠθῐ́ου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ψῑμῠ́θῐον tò psīmŭ́thĭon	τὼ ψῑμῠθῐ́ω tṑ psīmŭthĭ́ō	τᾰ̀ ψῑμῠ́θῐᾰ tằ psīmŭ́thĭă
Genitive	τοῦ ψῑμῠθῐ́ου toû psīmŭthĭ́ou	τοῖν ψῑμῠθῐ́οιν toîn psīmŭthĭ́oin	τῶν ψῑμῠθῐ́ων tôn psīmŭthĭ́ōn
Dative	τῷ ψῑμῠθῐ́ῳ tōî psīmŭthĭ́ōi	τοῖν ψῑμῠθῐ́οιν toîn psīmŭthĭ́oin	τοῖς ψῑμῠθῐ́οις toîs psīmŭthĭ́ois
Accusative	τὸ ψῑμῠ́θῐον tò psīmŭ́thĭon	τὼ ψῑμῠθῐ́ω tṑ psīmŭthĭ́ō	τᾰ̀ ψῑμῠ́θῐᾰ tằ psīmŭ́thĭă
Vocative	ψῑμῠ́θῐον psīmŭ́thĭon	ψῑμῠθῐ́ω psīmŭthĭ́ō	ψῑμῠ́θῐᾰ psīmŭ́thĭă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• ψῑμυθῐόω (psīmuthĭóō, verb)
• ψῑμυθῐοφᾰνής (psīmuthĭophănḗs)
• ψῑμυθῐ́ζω (psīmuthĭ́zō)
• ψῑμυθοειδής (psīmuthoeidḗs)

Descendants

• Arabic: بِسِيمُوتِيُّون (bisīmūtiyyūn)
  • Latin: bisemūtum
    • Middle High German: wismāt
      • German: Wismut, Wismuth (obsolete), Bismut
        • → English: bismuth

Further reading

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