zathene

Latin

Alternative forms

• zanthenēs (manuscript variant with n)

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈza.tʰe.neː/, [ˈd̪͡z̪ät̪ʰɛneː]

Noun

zathenē gender unattested (genitive zathenēs); first declension

1. (hapax) an amber-like gem from Media
   • c. 77 CE – 79 CE, Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 37.70.185:

     Zathenen in Media nasci Democritus tradit electri colore et, si quis terat in vino palmeo et croco, cerae modo lentescere odore magnae suavitatis.

     Democritus relates that zathene comes from Media and is the colour of amber; if it is rubbed with palm wine and saffron, it softens like wax and produces a very sweet smell.

Declension

Since the term survives only in the accusative singular zathenēn, the declension is hypothetical. Most sources derive the nominative as zathenē, but the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed.) prefers zathenēs.

First-declension noun (Greek-type).

	singular	plural
nominative	zathenē	zathenae
genitive	zathenēs	zathenārum
dative	zathenae	zathenīs
accusative	zathenēn	zathenās
ablative	zathenē	zathenīs
vocative	zathenē	zathenae

References

• “zanthenes”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• zathene in Georges, Karl Ernst, Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918) Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 2, Hahnsche Buchhandlung
• zathene in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “zathenēs” on page 1225/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)