ἄργιλλος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ἄργῑλος (árgīlos), ἄργῐλλα (árgĭlla)

Etymology

Generally derived from ἀργός (argós, “white”), but the suffix cannot be Indo-European; note the interchanges -λλ-/-λ- and the variations in the ending. Given the meaning, a Pre-Greek origin is quite possible, and connection with ἀργός (argós) is semantically not evident.

Pronunciation

(5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ár.ɡil.los/
(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ɡil.los/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ʝil.los/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ʝil.los/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈar.ʝi.los/

Noun

ἄργῐλλος • (árgĭllos) f (genitive ἀργῐ́λλου); second declension

white clay, potter's clay, argil

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ἄργῐλλος; τῆς ἀργῐ́λλου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ἄργῐλλος hē árgĭllos	τὼ ἀργῐ́λλω tṑ argĭ́llō	αἱ ἄργῐλλοι hai árgĭlloi
Genitive	τῆς ἀργῐ́λλου tês argĭ́llou	τοῖν ἀργῐ́λλοιν toîn argĭ́lloin	τῶν ἀργῐ́λλων tôn argĭ́llōn
Dative	τῇ ἀργῐ́λλῳ têi argĭ́llōi	τοῖν ἀργῐ́λλοιν toîn argĭ́lloin	ταῖς ἀργῐ́λλοις taîs argĭ́llois
Accusative	τὴν ἄργῐλλον tḕn árgĭllon	τὼ ἀργῐ́λλω tṑ argĭ́llō	τᾱ̀ς ἀργῐ́λλους tā̀s argĭ́llous
Vocative	ἄργῐλλε árgĭlle	ἀργῐ́λλω argĭ́llō	ἄργῐλλοι árgĭlloi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

ἀργῐλλοφόρητος (argĭllophórētos)
ἀργῐλλώδης (argĭllṓdēs)

Descendants

Greek: άργιλος (árgilos)
→ Latin: argilla

“ἄργιλλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“ἄργιλλος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
ἄργιλλος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
ἄργιλλος 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