ἄσαρον

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Unknown. Clearly related to some names of coltsfoot given by 1st century interpolations to Dioskurides, ἀσᾶ (asâ) with the Thracians of Βῆσσα, σααρθρά (saarthrá) with the Egyptians. Hazelwort and coltsfoot sharing a name by superficial similarity is well-known, both being meanings of Proto-Slavic *kopytъnikъ, and from coltsfoot one even went to dock with Proto-Kartvelian *ṭerep-.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /á.sa.ron/ → /ˈa.sa.ron/ → /ˈa.sa.ron/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /á.sa.ron/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈa.sa.ron/

Noun

ᾰ̓́σᾰρον • (ắsăron) n (genitive ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρου); second declension

1. hazelwort (Asarum europaeum)

   Synonym: βάκκαρις (bákkaris)

Inflection

Second declension of τὸ ᾰ̓́σᾰρον; τοῦ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	τὸ ᾰ̓́σᾰρον tò ắsăron	τὼ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρω tṑ ăsắrō	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́σᾰρᾰ tằ ắsără
Genitive	τοῦ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρου toû ăsắrou	τοῖν ᾰ̓σᾰ́ροιν toîn ăsắroin	τῶν ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρων tôn ăsắrōn
Dative	τῷ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρῳ tôi ăsắrōi	τοῖν ᾰ̓σᾰ́ροιν toîn ăsắroin	τοῖς ᾰ̓σᾰ́ροις toîs ăsắrois
Accusative	τὸ ᾰ̓́σᾰρον tò ắsăron	τὼ ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρω tṑ ăsắrō	τᾰ̀ ᾰ̓́σᾰρᾰ tằ ắsără
Vocative	ᾰ̓́σᾰρον ắsăron	ᾰ̓σᾰ́ρω ăsắrō	ᾰ̓́σᾰρᾰ ắsără
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

• → Arabic: أَسَارُون (ʔasārūn)
• → Latin: asarum
• → Persian: اسارون (asârun)

Further reading

• “ἄσαρον”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• ἄσαρον in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• ἄσαρον in the Diccionario Griego–Español en línea (2006–2025)
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄσαρον”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 147, of course proposing a Pre-Greek origin, comparing the word with ἀρίσαρον (arísaron), which appears to contain both ἄρον (áron) and ᾰ̓́σᾰρον (ắsăron); see also ἡδύσαρον (hēdúsaron) and σίσᾰρον (sísăron).
• Lewy, Heinrich (1895) Die semitischen Fremdwörter im Griechischen (in German), Berlin: R. Gaertner’s Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 47, of course suggests a Semitic origin, by a hapax nonsensically translated as “sneezing” Jewish Literary Aramaic זרירוהי that CAL wants to emend away to זריזוהי, apparently then meaning “valiance”.