κόρη + νᾶμα
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
κρήνη
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
krēnē
English translation (word)
spring (water)
Transliteration (Etymon)
korē + nāma
English translation (etymon)
girl + stream
Century
10 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Suda, kappa 2393
Ed.
A. Adler, Suidae Lexicon, Leipzig: Teubner, 1928-1935
Quotation
Κρήνη: ἡ πηγή. κάρα, καρήνη, κρήνη. κορυφὴ γὰρ τοῦ ῥεύματος ἢ κόρη τοῦ νάματος· καὶ γὰρ θυγατέρας αὐτάς φασι
Translation (En)
Krēnē "spring": kara "head", karēnē "head", krēnē. Because it is the head of the flow or the daughter (korē) of the river (namatos): because they are said to be their daughters.
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, kappa, p. 345-346 (Κρήνη, παρὰ τὸ ῥέω ῥένη, καὶ τροπῇ τοῦ ε εἰς η, καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ κ κρήνη· ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ κάραν καὶ κορυφὴν εἶναι τοῦ ῥεύματος, καὶ κόρη νάματος· καὶ γὰρ αἱ κρῆναι θυγατέρες τῶν ποταμῶν εἰσι)
Modern etymology
Within Greek, probably related to κρουνός "spring". PIE *kr̥sneh2- (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has κρήνη as a learned word
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Compositional etymology relying on a mythological tradition: springs are feminine divinities, young, and said to be daughters of the rivers (masculine gods). The name of the girl, κόρη, accounts for the first syllable of κρήνη, assuming a syncope took place. The second syllable is assumed to go back to a poetic name of the stream, νᾶμα, of which only the initial consonant is kept. The compound has a structure noun + genitive: the etymologist did not pat attention to the fact that most compounds having such a structure in Greek display the reverse order, genitive + noun.