σκίλλα

Forms

σκῐ́λλᾰ (skílla) f (genitive σκῐ́λλης); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is an unexplained foreign word, which Beekes considers probably Pre-Greek, perhaps from a form *skilya.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Theognis, in the 6th century BC, is the first to name the plant, and his contemporary Hipponax mentions its use in purification rites.^[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The plant is the sea squill, Urginea maritima, a large bulb.^[3][4] It was used in medicine, often in the Hippocratic writers, and in rites of purification: Hipponax, Diphilus and Theophrastus's Characters mention it, and an inscription from Mytilene of the 3rd century BC prescribes it.^[3][4][5] Aristotle and Theophrastus describe it, and Theocritus mentions it.^[3][4] Derivatives include σκιλλίτης (skillítēs), wine flavoured with squill, and the adjective σκίλλινος “of squill”.^[6]

It was borrowed as Latin scilla.^[2][7] The word continued in medieval Greek, with a dialect form with -ε- and a prefixed α-, and is still used.^[8]

Timeline

• 6th century BC – Theognis names the plant, and Hipponax mentions it in a purification rite.^[3][4][9]
• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writers use it in remedies.^[5][9]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle and Theophrastus describe the plant.^[3][9]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theocritus mentions the squill.^[3][9]
• Medieval Greek – The word survives, with dialect variants.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The sea squill, Urginea maritima, used in medicine and in purification rites.^[3][4]

Related words

• Latin scilla

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
8. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
9. ^ a b c d Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge