Σίσυφος

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Of unknown origin. Possibilities include:

• A reduplicated form of σοφός (sophós, “wise”).
• A derivative of σίσυς (sísus, “a goat's skin”); see σισύρα (sisúra, “cloak of goat's hair”).
• A Pre-Greek loan.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /sǐː.sy.pʰos/ → /ˈsi.sy.ɸos/ → /ˈsi.si.fos/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /sǐː.sy.pʰos/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.sy.pʰos/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.sy.ɸos/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.sy.fos/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.si.fos/

Proper noun

Σῑ́σῠφος • (Sī́suphos) m (genitive Σῑσῠ́φου); second declension

1. Sisyphus

   Τὸν Θάνατον ὁ Σίσυφος ἔδησεν. ― Tòn Thánaton ho Sísuphos édēsen. ― Death was bound by Sisyphus.

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ Σῑ́σῠφος; τοῦ Σῑσῠ́φου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ὁ Σῑ́σῠφος ho Sī́suphos
Genitive	τοῦ Σῑσῠ́φου toû Sīsúphou
Dative	τῷ Σῑσῠ́φῳ tôi Sīsúphōi
Accusative	τὸν Σῑ́σῠφον tòn Sī́suphon
Vocative	Σῑ́σῠφε Sī́suphe
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• σῑσῠ́φειος (sīsúpheios, “Sisyphean”)

Descendants

• Greek: Σίσυφος (Sísyfos)
• → Latin: Sīsyphus
  • → Catalan: Sísif
  • → French: Sisyphe
  • → German: Sisyphus
  • → Italian: Sisifo
  • → Portuguese: Sísifo
  • → Romanian: Sisif
  • → Sicilian: Sìsifu
  • → Spanish: Sísifo
• Turkish: Sisifos

Further reading

• “Σίσυφος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[2], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited.
  • sisyphus idem, page 779.
• Σίσυφος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette