amphí

amphí

From Proto-Hellenic *ampʰí, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”). Beekes argues that the Indo-European term originated as a case form of *h₂ent- (“face”), which is the source of ἀντί (antí).

Cognate with Old English ymb-, Middle English umbe, Latin ambi-, Sanskrit अभि (abhí, “towards, over, upon”), Old Persian 𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎹 (abiy, “towards, against, upon”), Old High German umbi, Old Irish imb (“around”) and the first part of Old Armenian ամբ-ողջ (amb-ołǰ, “whole”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /am.pʰí/ → /amˈɸi/ → /amˈfi/

Preposition

ἀμφί • (amphí) (governs the genitive, dative and accusative)

1. [with genitive]
   1. for, for the sake of
   2. about, concerning
   3. around
2. [with dative]
   1. by, near, around, with
   2. about, on account of, for the sake of
   3. regarding, concerning
3. [with accusative]
   1. about, around