ξηρίον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ξηρός (xērós, “dry”) +‎ -ίον (-íon), or ellipsis of ξηρίον φάρμακον (xēríon phármakon, literally “dry powder medicine”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ksɛː.rí.on/ → /ksiˈri.on/ → /ksiˈri.on/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ksɛː.rí.on/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /kse̝ˈri.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ksiˈri.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ksiˈri.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ksiˈri.on/

Noun

ξηρῐ́ον • (xēríon) n (genitive ξηρῐ́ου); second declension

1. a desiccative powder for wounds

   Synonym: ξηράφιον (xēráphion)

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ξηρῐ́ον; τοῦ ξηρῐ́ου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ξηρῐ́ον tò xēríon	τὼ ξηρῐ́ω tṑ xēríō	τᾰ̀ ξηρῐ́ᾰ tà xēría
Genitive	τοῦ ξηρῐ́ου toû xēríou	τοῖν ξηρῐ́οιν toîn xēríoin	τῶν ξηρῐ́ων tôn xēríōn
Dative	τῷ ξηρῐ́ῳ tôi xēríōi	τοῖν ξηρῐ́οιν toîn xēríoin	τοῖς ξηρῐ́οις toîs xēríois
Accusative	τὸ ξηρῐ́ον tò xēríon	τὼ ξηρῐ́ω tṑ xēríō	τᾰ̀ ξηρῐ́ᾰ tà xēría
Vocative	ξηρῐ́ον xēríon	ξηρῐ́ω xēríō	ξηρῐ́ᾰ xēría
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Classical Syriac: ܟܣܝܪܝܢ (ksīrīn), ܟܣܪܝܢ (ksirīn), ܟܣܐܪܝܢ (ksērīn)
  • → Arabic: إِكْسِير (ʔiksīr), إِكْسِيرِين (ʔiksīrīn)
    • → French: élixir
      • → Polish: eliksir, eliksyr; elixir
      • → Romanian: elixir
    • → Medieval Latin: elixir
      • → Dutch: elixer
      • → English: elixir
    • → Ottoman Turkish: اكسیر
      • Turkish: iksir
    • → Persian: اکسیر (eksir)

Further reading

• “ξηρίον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ξηρίον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette