Julius von Klaproth. 1823. “Conjecture sur l’origine du nom de la soie, chez les anciens.” Journal asiatique April 1823. pp. 243–245.
Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat. 1823. “Addition à la Note précédente.” Journal asiatique April 1823. pp. 245–247.
In this brief note, Julius von Klaproth demonstrates that the Greek word Σήρ must have ultimately derived from the Chinese word for silk, 絲 sī. Klaproth does not make the connection straightforwardly. Instead, he takes us through cognate words in Armenian, Mongolian, Manchu, and Slavic, to demonstrate that the word traveled gradually through the various languages of Eurasia.
Abel-Rémusat adds a brief letter reinforcing Klaproth’s argument. He notes that in a forthcoming work he has uncovered a Japanese hiragana transliteration of the Korean pronunciation of 絲 sī, and it reads sir. To Abel-Rémusat, this provides incontrovertible proof of the connection between 絲 sī and Σήρ.
