λείριον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Borrowed from an eastern Mediterranean substrate language. One likely candidate is the ancestor of Fayyumic Coptic ϩⲗⲏⲣⲓ (hlēri) (compare Sahidic Coptic ϩⲣⲏⲣⲉ (hrēre)). Similar words in other languages, probably from the same source, include Albanian lule (“flower”), Hittite [script needed] (alil-, “flower”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /lěː.ri.on/ → /ˈli.ri.on/ → /ˈli.ri.on/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /lěː.ri.on/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈli.ri.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈli.ri.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈli.ri.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈli.ri.on/

Noun

λείριον • (leírion) n (genitive λειρίου); second declension

1. Madonna lily (Lilium candidum)
2. paperwhite (Narcissus tazetta)
3. autumn narcissus (Narcissus serotinus)

Declension

Second declension of τὸ λείριον; τοῦ λειρίου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ λείριον tò leírion	τὼ λειρίω tṑ leiríō	τᾰ̀ λείριᾰ tà leíria
Genitive	τοῦ λειρίου toû leiríou	τοῖν λειρίοιν toîn leiríoin	τῶν λειρίων tôn leiríōn
Dative	τῷ λειρίῳ tôi leiríōi	τοῖν λειρίοιν toîn leiríoin	τοῖς λειρίοις toîs leiríois
Accusative	τὸ λείριον tò leírion	τὼ λειρίω tṑ leiríō	τᾰ̀ λείριᾰ tà leíria
Vocative	λείριον leírion	λειρίω leiríō	λείριᾰ leíria
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• λείρινος (leírinos)
• λειριόεις (leirióeis)
• λειριοπολφανεμώνη (leiriopolphanemṓnē)
• λείριος (leírios)
• λειριώδης (leiriṓdēs)

 

Descendants

• Greek: λειρί (leirí, “cock's comb”)
• → Latin: līlium (see there for further descendants)
  • → Translingual: Lilium
• → Serbo-Croatian: lijȇr

Further reading

• “λείριον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “λείριον”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• λείριον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette