Σείρινον
seirinon, sirinon, dog-day-cloak
Translated by William Hutton24 Oct 2013Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
'seirinon' is what they used to call a light cloak loosely woven,1 like a summer-cloak;2 according to what the lexicographers say. But also [sc. attested is] seirh/n , a light and diaphanous tunic,3 suitable at the time when Sirius is [sc. rising].4 There is also Seiris, an Italian city.5 And perhaps Lycurgus in On the Administration called the textiles from there, or6 certain others, [seirina]. In some [sc. writers it is spelled] without the 'i', and it is written se/rina .7
Greek original · Adler’s text
Σείρινον· σείρινον ἐκάλουν λεπτὸν ἱμάτιον ἀσπάθητον, οἷον θέριστρον· καθά φασιν οἱ γλωσσογράφοι. καὶ σειρὴν δὲ ὁ λεπτὸς καὶ διαφανὴς χιτών, εὔθετος τότε, ὅτε ἐστὶν ὁ σείριος. ἔστι δὲ καὶ Σεῖρις, πόλις Ἰταλική. καὶ τάχα τὰ ἔνθεν ὑφάσματα, εἴ τινα ἄλλα, Λυκοῦργος εἶπεν ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῆς διοικήσεως. ἐν ἐνίοις μὲν χωρὶς τοῦ ι γράφεται δὲ σέρινα.
Betacode
*sei/rinon: sei/rinon e)ka/loun lepto\n i(ma/tion a)spa/qhton, oi(=on qe/ristron: kaqa/ fasin oi( glwssogra/foi. kai\ seirh\n de\ o( lepto\s kai\ diafanh\s xitw/n, eu)/qetos to/te, o(/te e)sti\n o( sei/rios. e)/sti de\ kai\ *sei=ris, po/lis *)italikh/. kai\ ta/xa ta\ e)/nqen u(fa/smata, ei)/ tina a)/lla, *lukou=rgos ei)=pen e)n tw=| *peri\ th=s dioikh/sews. e)n e)ni/ois me\n xwri\s tou= i gra/fetai de\ se/rina.
Notes (7)
- = Photius, Lexicon sigma120 (s.v.
seirh=na ), a close paraphrase of Harpokration (epitome) sigma2 Keaney, s.v.sei/rina , the plural form of the present entry's neuter headword. There is much variation in the mss. of all three lexica in the spelling of the primary headword and some of the secondary ones as well. For more on the issues, see Theodoridis on Photius ad loc. Apparently the point of Harpokration's entry was that the Athenian orator Lycurgus (fr. 5.10 Conomis) used the term in a sense that was not covered by the lexicographers. The present headword is otherwise unattested outside lexicographers.
On the garment(s) in question Theodoridis cites Gow's comments in his edition of Theocritus, Idylls 15.21. - 1cf. Hesychius sigma340 (s.v.
seirh/ ). ↩ - 2cf. Hesychius sigma342, where a
seiro/n is defined as a word used by Sikyonians for a man's summer-cloak. ↩ - 3cf. Hesychius sigma342. ↩
- 4cf. generally sigma 275, sigma 284, sigma 285. ↩
- 5cf. sigma 476. ↩
- 6Reading
h)/ ('or') with Harpokration in place of the Suda'sei) ; cf. Theodoridis on Photius sigma120. ↩ - 7The point being made here is rendered unclear by different formulations of it in the different lexica. In Harpokration Keaney prints "it is written without the 'e', [i.e.] sirina". The mss of Photius (noted by Theodoridis) have
serh=na orse/rhna . The Suda version evidently intends to highlight a seirina/serina distinction. ↩
Neighbouring entries
Revision history5 revisions · last 25 May 2016
- coding — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- tweaked n.7 — David Whitehead
- added n. 6, cosmetics — William Hutton
- augmented notes; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — William Hutton