carphos

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κάρφος (kárphos, “small dry stalk, dry twig”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkar.pʰos/, [ˈkärpʰɔs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkar.fos/, [ˈkärfos]

Noun

carphos n

1. fenugreek

   Synonym: tēlis

   • c. 77 CE – 79 CE, Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 24.184:

     Nec faeno Graeco minor auctoritas, quod telin vocant, alii carphos, aliqui buceras, alii aegoceras, quoniam corniculis semen est simile, nos siliciam.

     • 1855 translation by John Bostock

       Nor is fenugreek held in less esteem. By some it is known as "telis," by others as "carphos," and by others again as "buceras," or "ægoceras," the produce of it bearing some resemblance to horns. Among us it is known as "silicia."

Declension

The use of the form carphos as the accusative singular shows that the word is neuter in Latin, as it is in Greek, where it belongs to the third declension. Forms other than the nominative/accusative/vocative singular are not attested in Latin.

References

• “carphos”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• carphos in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.