σιμός

Forms

σῑμός (sīmós) m (feminine σῑμή, neuter σῑμόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^[2][3] Beekes considers it most likely Pre-Greek, although he finds no positive sign of this: oxytone adjectives in -μός (-mós) are rare, but θερμός (thermós) and δοχμός (dokhmós) show that some are Indo-European.^[4] He rejects Janda's derivation from a root Proto-Indo-European *tyeh₂- (“to strike”), meaning “struck, flattened (nose)”, because Greek has no trace of a sense “strike” and the word's meanings are too wide.^[4][1] The older comparison with Old High German swīnan (“to disappear, decrease”) and Old Norse svína is impossible in form, since Indo-European *sw- does not give Greek σ- (s-), and remote in meaning.^[4][1] Babiniotis notes that its expressive stem has been compared with σίλλος (síllos, “squinting”) and σικχός (sikkhós, “squeamish”).^[5]

It was borrowed as Latin sīmus (“snub-nosed”).^[4][6] The personal names Σῖμος (Sîmos) and Σιμίας (Simías) are formed from it, and the second gave an appellative “flat-nose”, the word for the monkey, which Latin took over as sīmia.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Xenophanes, in the 6th–5th century BC, says that the Ethiopians picture their gods as snub-nosed and black.^[7][8][9] Mycenaean may already have it in a personal name, Mycenaean Greek si-mo for Σῖμος (Sîmos).^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

Herodotus uses it of the snub-nosed Scythians, of the hippopotamus and of small ponies, and later writers of dolphins, dogs, bees and goats.^[7] Of the nose it is the opposite of γρυπός (grupós, “hook-nosed”), and since such a nose gives a pert look, Plato counts it charming, while Hellenistic epigrams use “to laugh snub-nosed” for a mocking grin.^[7][4]

From “turned up” it came to mean “rising, uphill”: Aristophanes and Xenophon use it of uphill ground, and Xenophon speaks of pursuing an enemy up the slope.^[7] It also meant “hollow, concave”, the opposite of κυρτός (kurtós, “convex”), of an empty belly, of the underside of the liver and of curved splints in the Hippocratic writers.^[7][4] Hesychius glosses it “blind”.^[7]

Medieval Greek used it for “flat-nosed” and “impudent”, and also for “near”.^[10] In Modern Greek it survives as a learned word, and the adverb Modern Greek σιμά (simá) means “near, close by”.^[10][3]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Xenophanes calls the gods of the Ethiopians snub-nosed.^[7][8][9]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus describes the Scythians and the hippopotamus with it.^[7][9]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes and Xenophon use it of uphill ground, and Xenophon of a hollow belly.^[7][9]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato opposes it to γρυπός (grupós) in speaking of noses.^[7][9]
• 5th century AD (probably) – Hesychius glosses it as “blind”.^[7][9]
• Medieval Greek – Vernacular texts use it for “impudent” and for “near”.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Snub-nosed, flat-nosed; of the nose, snub, flat.^[7][4]
2. Bent upwards; of ground, uphill, rising.^[7][4]
3. Hollow, concave.^[7][4]
4. (figurative) Pert, impudent.^[4][10]

Word family

• σιμότης (simótēs)
• σιμόω (simóō)

Related words

• Latin sīmus
• Latin sīmia

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
3. ^ a b c Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
6. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c d e f Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
10. ^ a b c d Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr