ἅρπη

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Ancient Greek

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Etymology

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Uncertain, but usually connected with ἁρπάζω (harpázō). Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *srp- (to reap, harvest; sickle), with cognates including Latin sarpō, Old Church Slavonic срьпъ (srĭpŭ, sickle), and Latvian sirpis. However, there are some difficulties with these connections; for one, *sr̥p- is expected to yield Ancient Greek *ῥαπ- (*rhap-), not ἅρπ- (hárp-).[1] There is possibly a contamination with a Semitic borrowing, Proto-Semitic *x̣arb-.[2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ἅρπη (hárpēf (genitive ἅρπης); first declension (Attic, Epic, Ionic)

  1. a bird of prey, hawk, falcon, tiercel or goshawk (falco gentilis)
  2. a sea-bird (probably shearwater)
  3. a kite
  4. a sickle
  5. a sickle-shaped sword, scimitar
  6. an elephant goad

Inflection

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Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἁρπάζω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 137–138
  2. ^ Brown, John Pairman (1995) Israel and Hellas (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; 231), volume I, Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, pages 78–82

Further reading

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