phthinein

Phthinein is an Ancient Greek verb meaning to perish, decay, fade away, or be destroyed. It is the present active infinitive form of the verb phthino (often rendered as phthínō in scholarly transliteration), which conveys the sense of waning or cessation of existence. In classical Greek usage, phthinein appears in contexts describing the deterioration of living beings, the decay of objects, or the decline of conditions such as health or fortune. The word is found in both poetry and prose and can express literal endings as well as metaphorical ones, such as the fading of light, the withering of a plant, or the collapse of a state.

Grammatically, phthinein follows the standard Greek verb system, with other forms built from the same root according to regular conjugation patterns. The infinitive phthinein can be used to express purpose or as a verbal complement after certain verbs and particles, meaning “to perish” or “to fade away.” The term appears in dictionaries under the lemma phthinein or related forms such as phthinō.

In modern philology, phthinein is of interest primarily for historical linguistics and the study of Greek verb morphology and semantics related to decay and impermanence in classical texts. It is largely restricted to scholarly discussion of ancient Greek and is not a term used in contemporary everyday language, except in linguistic or literary analyses of classical sources.