διρκαία

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• κιρκαία (kirkaía)

Etymology

According to Pedanius Dioscorides, the plant was named after the sorceress Circe. Alternatively, the word could be related to the proper noun Δίρκη (Dírkē). Furnée points to a Pre-Greek name in -αιο-. Compare also δίρκαιον (dírkaion, “winter cherry”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /dir.kǎi̯.a/ → /ðirˈcɛ.a/ → /ðirˈce.a/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /dir.kǎi̯.a/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /dirˈkɛ.a/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ðirˈcɛ.a/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ðirˈce.a/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ðirˈce.a/

Noun

δῐρκαίᾰ • (dirkaía) f (genitive δῐρκαίᾱς); first declension

1. black swallow-wort (Vincetoxicum nigrum)

Declension

First declension of ἡ δῐρκαῖᾰ; τῆς δῐρκαίᾱς (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ δῐρκαῖᾰ hē dirkaîa	τὼ δῐρκαίᾱ tṑ dirkaíā	αἱ δῐρκαῖαι hai dirkaîai
Genitive	τῆς δῐρκαίᾱς tês dirkaíās	τοῖν δῐρκαίαιν toîn dirkaíain	τῶν δῐρκαιῶν tôn dirkaiôn
Dative	τῇ δῐρκαίᾳ têi dirkaíāi	τοῖν δῐρκαίαιν toîn dirkaíain	ταῖς δῐρκαίαις taîs dirkaíais
Accusative	τὴν δῐρκαῖᾰν tḕn dirkaîan	τὼ δῐρκαίᾱ tṑ dirkaíā	τᾱ̀ς δῐρκαίᾱς tā̀s dirkaíās
Vocative	δῐρκαῖᾰ dirkaîa	δῐρκαίᾱ dirkaíā	δῐρκαῖαι dirkaîai
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Further reading

• “διρκαία”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Διρκαῖος in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2024)
• 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