Meanings
plural sciniphs
- archaicbiblicalA kind of stinging or biting insect; a flea, gnat, sandfly, or the like.
The sciniphs and flies are common in warm, and the sciniphs especially in marshy countries.
1885, George R. Northgraves, Mistakes of Modern Infidels; or Evidences of Christianity […], page 2052 more examples
And they did ſo. And Aaron ſtreched fotth his hand, holding the rodde: and he ſtroke the duſt of the earth, and there were made ſciniphes on men and on beaſtes: al the duſt of the earth was turned into ſciniphes through the whole Land of Ægypt.
1609, The Holie Bible, […] (Douay–Rheims Bible), Doway: Laurence Kellam, […], →OCLC, Exodus 8:17, page 178But it is worth noting that three of the plagues—blast, frost and fire—which he mentioned here do not appear at all in Exodus. […] In fact, in place of these three, there are recounted three others, sciniphs, boils, and darkness.
1991 [c. 540], Cassiodorus, translated by P. G. Walsh, Cassiodorus: Explanation of the Psalms, volume 2, →ISBN, page 267
Origin
- Ancient Greekσκνίψ“gnat, small fly(, flea?)”
- Latinscinifes
- Englishsciniph
From Latin scinifes, cinifes or ciniphes, plural, from Ancient Greek σκνίψ (skníps, “gnat, small fly(, flea?)”), plural σκνῖφες (sknîphes) or σκνῖπες (sknîpes).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
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Cite this entry
sciniph. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sciniph
“sciniph.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sciniph. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sciniph,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sciniph.
Source: sciniph on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.