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Document Details : Title: What Does Syriac Masparta Mean? Subtitle: A Look at the Syriac and Arabic Versions of the De Mundo Author(s): McCOLLUM, Adam Journal: Le Muséon Volume: 123 Issue: 1-2 Date: 2010 Pages: 193-202 DOI: 10.2143/MUS.123.1.2052770 Abstract : From a short passage in the Syriac version of the De Mundo, translated in the early sixth century, the meaning of the word masparta, which has two distinct meanings according to the dictionaries of Payne Smith and Audo, is investigated. It is argued that Payne Smith, apparently followed by Audo, has created a phantom meaning for masparta on the basis of the Greek word it translates in this passage, while a close reading of the Syriac text (with corroborating evidence form the Arabic versions) shows that masparta has only one meaning: ‘scissors’. |
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