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 • (dĭrkaíă) 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 dĭrkaîă	τὼ δῐρκαίᾱ tṑ dĭrkaíā	αἱ δῐρκαῖαι hai dĭrkaîai
Genitive	τῆς δῐρκαίᾱς tês dĭrkaíās	τοῖν δῐρκαίαιν toîn dĭrkaíain	τῶν δῐρκαιῶν tôn dĭrkaiôn
Dative	τῇ δῐρκαίᾳ têi dĭrkaíāi	τοῖν δῐρκαίαιν toîn dĭrkaíain	ταῖς δῐρκαίαις taîs dĭrkaíais
Accusative	τὴν δῐρκαῖᾰν tḕn dĭrkaîăn	τὼ δῐρκαίᾱ tṑ dĭrkaíā	τᾱ̀ς δῐρκαίᾱς tā̀s dĭrkaíās
Vocative	δῐρκαῖᾰ dĭrkaîă	δῐρκαίᾱ dĭrkaíā	δῐρκαῖαι dĭrkaîai
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 (2006–2025)
• 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