sîtos
Janda has explained it as the substantivization of an adjective *σῑτό- (*sītó-, “threshed”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *tih₂-tó- (“struck”), a participle from the newly suggested verbal root *tieh₂- (“to strike, hit”). Then σῆμα (sêma, “sign, mark”) (< *tiéh₂-mn (“what is carved”)), σῶμα (sôma, “corpse”) (< *tióh₂-mn (“the killed one”)), and σῑμός (sīmós, “snub-nosed”) (< *tih₂-mó- (“flattened”)) could be related.[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
σῖτος • (sîtos) m (genitive σῑ́του); second declension
- grain, corn (in the British sense, encompassing wheat and barley, the cereal grains used by the ancient Greeks)
- grains and lentils
- bread (as opposed to meat)
- food (as opposed to drink)
Usage notes
This noun is neuter in the plural.