ἄργιλλος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ἄργῑλος (árgīlos), ἄργῐλλα (árgilla)

Etymology

Generally derived from ἀργός (argós, “white”), but the suffix cannot be Indo-European; note the interchanges -λλ-/-λ- and the variations in the ending. Given the meaning, a Pre-Greek origin is quite possible, and connection with ἀργός (argós) is semantically not evident.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ár.ɡil.los/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ɡil.los/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ʝil.los/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ʝil.los/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ʝi.los/

Noun

ἄργῐλλος • (árgillos) f (genitive ἀργῐ́λλου); second declension

white clay, potter's clay, argil

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ἄργῐλλος; τῆς ἀργῐ́λλου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἄργῐλλος hē árgillos	τὼ ἀργῐ́λλω tṑ argíllō	αἱ ἄργῐλλοι hai árgilloi
Genitive	τῆς ἀργῐ́λλου tês argíllou	τοῖν ἀργῐ́λλοιν toîn argílloin	τῶν ἀργῐ́λλων tôn argíllōn
Dative	τῇ ἀργῐ́λλῳ têi argíllōi	τοῖν ἀργῐ́λλοιν toîn argílloin	ταῖς ἀργῐ́λλοις taîs argíllois
Accusative	τὴν ἄργῐλλον tḕn árgillon	τὼ ἀργῐ́λλω tṑ argíllō	τᾱ̀ς ἀργῐ́λλους tā̀s argíllous
Vocative	ἄργῐλλε árgille	ἀργῐ́λλω argíllō	ἄργῐλλοι árgilloi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ἀργῐλλοφόρητος (argillophórētos)
ἀργῐλλώδης (argillṓdēs)

Descendants

→ Latin: argilla

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