σινδών

Possibly a loanword from Egyptian šnḏwt (“kilt”). Compare also Hebrew סָדִין (sadin, “bedsheet”).^[1]

σῐνδών • (sĭndṓn) f (genitive σῐνδόνος); third declension

1. fine cloth, usually linen
   • (material, textile) Of linen as a fabric.
   • 484 BCE – 425 BCE, Herodotus, Hist. 2.86:

     λούσαντες τὸν νεκρὸν κατειλίσσουσι πᾶν αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα σινδόνος βυσσίνης τελαμῶσι

     loúsantes tòn nekròn kateilíssousi pân autoû tò sôma sindónos bussínēs telamôsi

     they wash the body and wrap the whole of it in strips (τελαμῶνες) of fine linen cloth

   • 484 BCE – 425 BCE, Herodotus, Hist. 7.181.2-3:

     καὶ σινδόνος βυσσίνης τελαμῶσι κατειλίσσοντες

     kaì sindónos bussínēs telamôsi kateilíssontes

     and wrapping him in bandages of linen cloth

   • 484 BCE – 425 BCE, Herodotus, Hist. 2.95.2-3:

     οἱ δὲ κώνωπες, ἢν μὲν ἐν ἱματίῳ ἐνειλιξάμενος εὕδῃ ἢ σινδόνι

     hoi dè kṓnōpes, ḕn mèn en himatíōi eneilixámenos heúdēi ḕ sindóni

     If he sleeps wrapped in a garment or in a linen cloth

   • 371 BCE – 287 BCE, Theophrastus, Historia Plantarum 4.7.7:

     ἐξ ἐρίου τὰς σινδόνας ὑφαίνουσιν

     ex eríou tàs sindónas huphaínousin

     they weave fine cloths from wool

   • 64 BCE – 24 CE, Strabo, Geog. 15.1.20:

     τὰς εὐητρίους ὑφαίνεσθαι σινδόνας

     tàs euētríous huphaínesthai sindónas

     fine cloths are woven from this material

2. garment or other item made of such linen
   • (garment, apparel) Used of items worn as clothing or as a body-covering wrap.
   • 125 CE – 200 CE, Lucian, The Parliament of the Gods 10:

     σὺ δέ, ὦ κυνοπρόσωπε καὶ σινδόσιν ἐσταλμένε Αἰγύπτιε

     sù dé, ô kunoprósōpe kaì sindósin estalméne Aigúptie

     But you there, dog-faced Egyptian, clothed in linen garments

   • Alex.Rom., Rec. β.24:

     περιβεβλημένος σινδόνα βαμβυκίνην

     peribeblēménos sindóna bambukínēn

     wearing a linen garment

   • 50 CE – 100 CE, New Testament, Mk. 14:51:

     νεανίσκος τις … περιβεβλημένος σινδόνα ἐπὶ γυμνοῦ

     neanískos tis … peribeblēménos sindóna epì gumnoû

     a certain young man … wearing a linen garment over (his) nakedness

   • 50 CE – 100 CE, New Testament, Mk. 14:52:

     καὶ καταλιπὼν τὴν σινδόνα ἔφυγεν γυμνός

     kaì katalipṑn tḕn sindóna éphugen gumnós

     and leaving behind the linen garment, he fled naked

   • (burial) Used of a burial shroud.
   • 50 CE – 100 CE, New Testament, Mk. 15:46:

     ἐνείλησεν αὐτὸν τῇ σινδόνι

     eneílēsen autòn tēî sindóni

     wrapped him in the linen cloth

   • 70 CE – 90 CE, The Gospel of Matthew 27:59:

     ἐνετύλιξεν αὐτὸ σινδόνι καθαρᾷ

     enetúlixen autò sindóni katharāî

     wrapped it in a clean linen cloth

   • (medicine) Used of linen cloth employed in medical handling.
   • 129 CE – 216 CE, Galen, Meth.Med. 10.724K:

     μὴ γυμνός, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπιβεβλημένος … σινδόνα

     mḕ gumnós, all’ epibeblēménos … sindóna

     not naked, but covered with a linen cloth

In Herodotus (2.86; 7.181), τελαμών (telamṓn) denotes a wrapping strip or bandage, while σῐνδών (sĭndṓn) denotes the linen fabric from which such strips are made, expressed by the genitive (σινδόνος).

• ⇒ Koine Greek: σινδόνιον (sindónion) (diminutive)
  • Byzantine Greek: σεντόνι(ν) (sentóni(n))
    • Greek: σεντόνι (sentóni)
• → Latin: sindōn
• → Classical Syriac: ܣܕܘܢܐ

• “σινδών”, in Liddell & Scott (1940), A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “σινδών”, in Liddell & Scott (1889), An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• σινδών in Bailly, Anatole (1935), Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette