σιτ-άριον

σῑτ-άριον, τό, Dim. of σῖτος,

A a little corn or bread, a bit of corn or breadstuff: sg., PCair.Zen.160.10 (iii B.C.), Plu.2.1097d: pl., Philem.98.3, PTeb.750.16 (ii B.C.), Plb.16.24.5; bits of food, Hp.Epid.3.17.ά.

Grammatical information: m.

Meaning: `corn, esp. wheat, bread, food' (Il.; on the meaning Moritz Class Quart. N. S. 5, 135ff.).

Other forms: pl. σῖτα n.

Dialectal forms: Myc. sito.

Compounds: Numerous compp., e.g. σιτ-αγωγός `conveying corn' (Hdt., Th. a.o.; Chantraine Études 91); σιτ-ηρέσιον n. `provision of grain, (money for) victualling, pay' (X., D., hell. a. late), prob. with suppression of the intermediate member for - σιτ-ὑπ-ηρέσιον to τὸν σῖτον ( τὰ σιτία) ὑπηρετεῖν (slightly diff. Fraenkel Nom. ag. 1, 190); σύσ-σιτος m. `table companion, messmate' (Thgn. etc.) with συσσίτ-ια pl., - ία, - ικός, - έω, - ησις.

Derivatives: Many derivv.: subst. 1. σιτία pl. (rare - ίον sg.) n. `bread, fare, provision', also `corn' (IA. prose, com.); 2. dimin. σιτ-άριον n. `corn, bread' (Hp., pap.); 3. - ανίας ( πυρός) m. `kind of wheat' (Thphr.; beside κριθανίας [s. κριθή]; coubted by Kroll AmJPh. 60, 107); 4. - ώματα pl. `provision' (pap. II<sup>p</sup>; - ώματα enlarged Chantraine Form. 186f.); 5. - ών, - ῶνος m. `granary, cornfield' (Roussel Mél. Navarre 375 ff.; Plu. a. o.); 6. -ώ f. surn. of Demeter (hell. a. late). Adj. 7. σιτ-ηρός (Hp., Arist. etc.); 8. - ικός (hell. a. late); 9. - ινος (late) `concerning the corn'; 10. - αῖα pl. n. `corn interest' (Olymos); 11. - ώδης `cornlike', τὰ σιτώδη `corn' (Thphr. etc.). Verbs 12. σιτ-έομαι, also w. κατα- a. o., `to feed' (ω 209 [ σιτέσκοντο]) with - ησις f. `(public) maintenance' (IA.); 13. - εύω, - εύομαι `to feed, to supply' (Hdt., hell. a. late) with - ευτός (X. etc.), - ευσις, - εύσιμος, - ευτής, - εία (hell. a. late); 14. - ίζω, - ίζομαι, often w. ἐπι-, `id.' with ἐπι- σῖτος ισμός `victualling' (X., D. etc.).

Origin: XX [etym. unknown]

Etymology: As opposed to πυρός and κριθή without convincing etymology. Often as LW [loanword] from an other IE language explained: 1. to Slav., e.g. Russ. žíto `corn', OPr. geits `bread' (Wiedemann BB 27, 213 n.); 2. to the Germ. word for `wheat', Goth. hvaiteis etc., i.e. from a northerly satemlanguage (G. Meyer Alban. Stud. 3, 51 n. 2). Diff. Hubschmid Sardische Stud. (Bern 1953) 104: like ἄρτος substratum word, to Basque zitu `corn, harvest'; Schott Festschr. Hirt 2, 47 (with Hemmel in Lewy Fremdw. 81 A.): to Sumer. zid `flour'; Maccarrone Arch. glottol. it. 31, 103ff.: from Egypt. sw.t `corn' (orig. Semit.). -- Not to ψίω `grind, masticate', ψίξ `crumb' (Prellwitz, Fick BB 28, 108).

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