σίγνον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sīgnum (“sign”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɣnon/ → /ˈsi.ɣnon/

• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɡnon/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɣnon/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɣnon/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ɣnon/

Noun

σίγνον • (sígnon) m (genitive σίγνου); second declension

1. signum, statue
2. (in the plural) place where the standards were set up in a camp or kept in administrative headquarters
3. (in the plural, figurative) arrest, prison

Usage notes

Since the Constantine army reforms the word in the meaning of a field standard slowly fell into disuse, as the legions were split up into partial detachments, these bearing the dracō and the aquila being kept at home, and also the labarum introduced. From the 6th century only bandum / βάνδον (bándon) was used. See فلامور (fılamur) for another term in later Byzantine Greek. In literature any of these terms was covered up by σημεῖον (sēmeîon).

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ σῐ́γνον; τοῦ σῐ́γνου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ σῐ́γνον tò sígnon	τὼ σῐ́γνω tṑ sígnō	τᾰ̀ σῐ́γνᾰ tà sígna
Genitive	τοῦ σῐ́γνου toû sígnou	τοῖν σῐ́γνοιν toîn sígnoin	τῶν σῐ́γνων tôn sígnōn
Dative	τῷ σῐ́γνῳ tôi sígnōi	τοῖν σῐ́γνοιν toîn sígnoin	τοῖς σῐ́γνοις toîs sígnois
Accusative	τὸ σῐ́γνον tò sígnon	τὼ σῐ́γνω tṑ sígnō	τᾰ̀ σῐ́γνᾰ tà sígna
Vocative	σῐ́γνον sígnon	σῐ́γνω sígnō	σῐ́γνᾰ sígna
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• Greek: σίχνα (síchna, “church standards”)
• Pontic Greek: σίγνα (sígna), σίχνα (síchna), σίκνα (síkna, “melasma, scar”)
• → Arabic: سِجْن (sijn)
• → Aramaic: (with educated artificial endings)

  Classical Syriac: ܣܝܓܢܣ, ܣܝܓܢܘܣ, ܣܝܓܢܐܘܣ

  Christian Palestinian Aramaic: ܣܝܓܢܣ

  Jewish Literary Aramaic: סִיגְנוּן (signōn), סִיגְנוּם (signōm)

• → Coptic: ⲥⲓⲅⲛⲟⲛ (signon)
• → Mishnaic Hebrew: סִיגְנוּן (signōn), סִיגְנוּם (signōm)

References

• “σίγνον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Niehoff-Panagiotidis, Jannis (1996) “Romania Graeco-Arabica: lat. signum > gr. σίγνον > arab. siǧn”, in Romania Arabica. Festschrift für Reinhold Kontzi zum 70. Geburtstag‎^[1] (in German), Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, →ISBN, pages 1–20