Discusses monosyllabic Greek words ending in -ρ and -ειρ (e.g., Σήρ, Τρήρ, θήρ, κήρ, χείρ, Εἴρ, Φθίρ, Σίρ, φώρ, Νώρ, Σῶρ), covering ethnics, nouns, poetic vowel contractions, accent/orthography notes, and citations to classical authors.
Σήρ ἔθνος Ἰνδικόν, ὅθεν σηρικὰ τὰ πολυτελῆ ἱμάτια. Τρήρ Θρᾴκιον ἔθνος. λέγεται καὶ τρισυλλάβως παρὰ Καλλίνῳ τῷ ποιητῇ »Τρήρεας ἄνδρας ἄγων«. Θεόπομπος Θρᾶρας αὐτοὺς καλεῖ. Ἀρριανὸς δὲ ἐν Βιθυνιακοῖς Τρίηρας. θήρ, φήρ ὁ κένταυρος »φηρσὶν ὀρεσκῴοις« (Α 268) καὶ κήρ τὸ θηλυκὸν ἡ θανατηφόρος μοῖρα »μάρτυροι οὓς μὴ κῆρες ἔβαν θανάτοιο φέρουσαι« (Β 302) καὶ κατὰ ποιητικὴν συστολὴν τοῦ 'η' εἰς 'α' »τίω δέ μιν ἐν καρὸς αἴσῃ« (Ι 378), ἤρ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐπικουρίας· καὶ ὀξύνεται ἡ γενικὴ ἠρός καὶ ἡ αἰτιατικὴ ἦρα καὶ ἐν συνθέσει ἐπιῆρα. βήρ τὸ φρέαρ παρὰ Φοίνιξι. —Τὰ εἰς 'ειρ' λήγοντα μονοσύλλαβα τρία μόνα εἰσίν, ἓν μὲν θηλυκὸν τὸ χείρ, δύο δὲ ἀρσενικὰ τὸ Εἴρ· ἔστι δὲ ὄνομα ποταμοῦ, οὗ μέμνηται Ἀρτεμίδωρος ἐν Γεωγραφουμένοις καὶ τὸ φθείρ. τὸ δὲ Φθίρ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ἐνδυμίωνος διὰ τοῦ 'ι' γράφεται, παρὰ δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ὄρος Καρίας καὶ οἱ κατοικοῦντες Φθῖρες »Φθιρῶν τ´ ὄρος ἀκριτόφυλλον« (Β 868). ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ Σίρ ἔθνος Θρᾴκης ὑπὲρ τοὺς Βυζαντίους. —φώρ ὁ κλέπτης, Νώρ ὄνομα ἔθνους. Σώρ. τὸ δὲ ὦρ περισπᾶται· ἔστι δὲ μόνον θηλυκὸν εἰς 'ωρ' ἐκ τοῦ ὄαρ γενόμενον κατὰ κρᾶσιν τοῦ 'ο' καὶ 'α' εἰς 'ω' ὥσπερ κρείττονα κρείττω· ἡ δὲ εὐθεῖα οὐχ εὕρηται, ἀναπλάττομεν δὲ αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ »ἀμύνεμεν ὤρεσιν« (Il. Ε 486).
Sḗr, an Indian people, whence σηρικά, the costly garments. Trḗr, a Thracian people. It is also said trisyllabically in Callinus the poet: «Τρήρεας ἄνδρας ἄγων». Theopompus calls them Θρᾶρας; Arrian in the Bithyniaca, however, Τρίηρας. θήρ; φήρ, the centaur: «φηρσὶν ὀρεσκῴοις» (Α 268); and κήρ, the feminine, the death-bringing fate: «μάρτυροι οὓς μὴ κῆρες ἔβαν θανάτοιο φέρουσαι» (Β 302); and, by poetic contraction of 'η' into 'α', «τίω δέ μιν ἐν καρὸς αἴσῃ» (Ι 378); ἤρ, in the sense of assistance; and the genitive ἠρός and the accusative ἦρα are accented with an acute, and in composition ἐπιῆρα. βήρ, “well”, among the Phoenicians.
The monosyllables ending in 'ειρ' are only three: one feminine, χείρ, and two masculine, Εἴρ (it is the name of a river, mentioned by Artemidorus in the Geographoumena) and φθείρ. But Φθίρ, the son of Endymion, is written with 'ι'; and from this comes the mountain of Caria and its inhabitants, the Φθῖρες: «Φθιρῶν τ´ ὄρος ἀκριτόφυλλον» (Β 868). Likewise also Σίρ, a people of Thrace beyond the Byzantines.
φώρ, “thief”; Νώρ, the name of a people. Σώρ. But ὦρ has a circumflex; it is the only feminine in 'ωρ', formed from ὄαρ by crasis of 'ο' and 'α' into 'ω', just as κρείττονα becomes κρείττω; but the nominative is not found, and we reconstruct it from «ἀμύνεμεν ὤρεσιν» (Il. Ε 486).