καμασήν

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Given the fish name ἠλακατήν (ēlakatḗn, “kind of tunny”), which derives from ἠλακάτη (ēlakátē, “distaff, spindle”), one would posit a basic word *κάμασος, with suffixal -ασος like in πέτασος (pétasos, “broad-brimmed hat”). It has been connected with Balto-Slavic words for the "sheatfish", such as Lithuanian šāmas, Latvian sams and Russian сом (som). Further connected with κάμαξ (kámax, “pole, bar”) by Solmsen. Probably a loan from the European substrate. Furnée connects it with κάβαισος (kábaisos, “glutton, gourmand”) and καμασός (kamasós, “gulf, pit”), but without evidence.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ka.ma.sɛ̌ːn/ → /ka.maˈsin/ → /ka.maˈsin/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /ka.ma.sɛ̌ːn/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ka.maˈse̝n/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ka.maˈsin/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ka.maˈsin/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ka.maˈsin/

Noun

κᾰμᾰσήν • (kamasḗn) m (genitive κᾰμᾰσῆνος); third declension

1. name of an unknown kind of fish

Declension

Third declension of ὁ κᾰμᾰσήν; τοῦ κᾰμᾰσῆνος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ κᾰμᾰσήν ho kamasḗn	τὼ κᾰμᾰσῆνε tṑ kamasêne	οἱ κᾰμᾰσῆνες hoi kamasênes
Genitive	τοῦ κᾰμᾰσῆνος toû kamasênos	τοῖν κᾰμᾰσήνοιν toîn kamasḗnoin	τῶν κᾰμᾰσήνων tôn kamasḗnōn
Dative	τῷ κᾰμᾰσῆνῐ tôi kamasêni	τοῖν κᾰμᾰσήνοιν toîn kamasḗnoin	τοῖς κᾰμᾰσῆσῐ / κᾰμᾰσῆσῐν toîs kamasêsi(n)
Accusative	τὸν κᾰμᾰσῆνᾰ tòn kamasêna	τὼ κᾰμᾰσῆνε tṑ kamasêne	τοὺς κᾰμᾰσῆνᾰς toùs kamasênas
Vocative	κᾰμᾰσήν kamasḗn	κᾰμᾰσῆνε kamasêne	κᾰμᾰσῆνες kamasênes
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Further reading

• “καμασῆνες”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• καμασήν in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN