ἀρσενικόν

Forms

ἀρσενικόν (arsenikón) n (genitive ἀρσενικοῦ); second declension.^[2] Also ἀρρενικόν, and the feminine ἀρρενική in Galen.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is a word of eastern origin, probably borrowed from Classical Syriac ܙܪܢܝܟܐ (zarnīkā, “arsenic”), which goes back to Middle Persian *zarnīk (“gold-coloured”).^[3][4][5] For the root of the Persian word Beekes and Frisk refer to Greek χλωρός (khlōrós).^[3][5] In Greek it was reshaped by popular etymology after ἀρσενικός (arsenikós), ἀρρενικός (arrhenikós) “male”.^[3][4][5] Triantafyllidis explains the link by the substance's strong effect.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Beekes and LSJ cite Aristotle (the Problems) first, for yellow orpiment, the sulphide of arsenic.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Greek the word named the yellow mineral orpiment, not the element: Theophrastus' treatise On Stones has the form ἀρρενικόν, and Dioscorides, Strabo and Galen describe it as a drug and pigment.^[2][4][7] Coptic borrowed it as ⲁⲣⲥⲉⲛⲓⲕⲟⲛ (arsenikon), recorded from about AD 200 in Sahidic texts.^[8]

Medieval vernacular Greek used it, as ἀρρενικόν or ἀρσινικόν, for arsenic trioxide.^[9] Modern Greek αρσενικό (arsenikó) is the chemical element and its poisonous compounds.^[6][10] Latin took the word as Latin arsenicum, the source, through Old French, of English arsenic (late 14th century).^[11][12]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle's Problems names orpiment ἀρσενικόν.^[2][3][13]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus writes the form ἀρρενικόν.^[2][4][13]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Strabo mentions it.^[2][7][13]
• 1st century AD – Dioscorides describes it as a drug.^[2][13]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses the feminine ἀρρενική.^[2][3][13]
• About AD 200 – The first Coptic record of the borrowed word.^[8]
• Late 14th century – English borrows it, through Latin and Old French, as arsenic.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. Yellow orpiment, arsenic sulphide.^[2][3]
2. (Byzantine) Arsenic trioxide.^[9]

Related words

• ἀρσενικός (arsenikós)
• Latin arsenicum
• English arsenic

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
4. ^ a b c d e 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
5. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
6. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
7. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
9. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
10. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Βικιλεξικό, the Greek Wiktionary, https://el.wiktionary.org
13. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge