ξηρίον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From ξηρός (xērós, “dry”) +‎ -ίον (-íon), or ellipsis of ξηρίον φάρμακον (xēríon phármakon, literally “dry powder medicine”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ksɛː.rí.on/ → /ksiˈri.on/ → /ksiˈri.on/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ksɛː.rí.on/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /kse̝ˈri.on/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ksiˈri.on/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ksiˈri.on/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ksiˈri.on/

Noun

ξηρῐ́ον • (xērĭ́on) n (genitive ξηρῐ́ου); second declension

1. a desiccative powder for wounds

   Synonym: ξηράφιον (xēráphion)

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ξηρῐ́ον; τοῦ ξηρῐ́ου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ξηρῐ́ον tò xērĭ́on	τὼ ξηρῐ́ω tṑ xērĭ́ō	τᾰ̀ ξηρῐ́ᾰ tằ xērĭ́ă
Genitive	τοῦ ξηρῐ́ου toû xērĭ́ou	τοῖν ξηρῐ́οιν toîn xērĭ́oin	τῶν ξηρῐ́ων tôn xērĭ́ōn
Dative	τῷ ξηρῐ́ῳ tôi xērĭ́ōi	τοῖν ξηρῐ́οιν toîn xērĭ́oin	τοῖς ξηρῐ́οις toîs xērĭ́ois
Accusative	τὸ ξηρῐ́ον tò xērĭ́on	τὼ ξηρῐ́ω tṑ xērĭ́ō	τᾰ̀ ξηρῐ́ᾰ tằ xērĭ́ă
Vocative	ξηρῐ́ον xērĭ́on	ξηρῐ́ω xērĭ́ō	ξηρῐ́ᾰ xērĭ́ă
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Classical Syriac: ܟܣܝܪܝܢ (ksīrīn), ܟܣܪܝܢ (ksirīn), ܟܣܐܪܝܢ (ksērīn)
  • → Arabic: إِكْسِير (ʔiksīr), إِكْسِيرِين (ʔiksīrīn)
    • → French: élixir
      • → Polish: eliksir, eliksyr (obsolete), elixir (pre-reform orthography (1816))
      • → Romanian: elixir
    • → Medieval Latin: elixir
      • → Dutch: elixer
      • → English: elixir
    • → Ottoman Turkish: اكسیر
      • Turkish: iksir
    • → Persian: اکسیر (eksir)

Further reading

• “ξηρίον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ξηρίον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette