κράτος
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Κράτα. τὴν κεφαλήν. ἀπὸ τοῦ κράτος, ὡς ἐνταῦθα τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ τυγχάνοντος· παρὰ τὸ κραίνειν καὶ βασιλεύειν τοῦ ὅλου σώματος. ὅθεν κρανίον καὶ κέρατα, τὰ ἐκ τοῦ κρανίου φυόμενα. Σωρανός.
Translation (En)
Krata, "the head". From kratos ‘power’, because the powerful part is located there; from krainein ‘to rule’ and reign over the whole body, whence also kranion ‘skull’ and kerata ‘horns’, which grow from the skull. Soranus.
Parallels
Meletius, De natura hominis, p. 52 (οἱ δὲ κάραν λέγουσιν, οἷον κέρα, ἀπὸ τοῦ τετριχῶσθαι· κέρα γὰρ ἡ θρίξ· ἢ κράτα ἀπὸ τοῦ κράτος, ὡς ἐνταῦθα τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ τυγχάνοντος· ἢ κράνιον παρὰ τὸ κραίνειν καὶ βασιλεύειν τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος· ἢ διὰ τὸ κρέμασθαι ἐκεῖ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον); Leo Medicus, De natura hominum synopsis 25 (Κεφαλὴ λέγεται παρὰ τὸ κάρφεσθαι, ὅ ἐστι ξηραίνεσθαι· […] κάραν δὲ ἐκ τοῦ <τε>τριχῶσθαι· κέρας γὰρ ἡ θρίξ. ἢ κρᾶτα ἐκ τοῦ κράτους· ἢ κρανίον ἐκ τοῦ κραίνειν καὶ βασιλεύειν τοῦ ὅλου σώματος); Etym. Gudianum, kappa, p. 343 (Κράτα, τὴν κεφαλὴν, ἀπὸ τοῦ κράτος ἐνταῦθα τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ τυγχάνοντος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ κραίνειν καὶ βασιλεύειν τοῦ λοιποῦ σώματος, ὅθεν καὶ κρανίον καὶ κέρατα, τὰ ἐκ τοῦ κρανίου φυόμενα· οὕτως Ὦρος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 535 (Κράτα: Τὴν κεφαλήν· ἀπὸ τοῦ κράτους, ὡς ἐνταῦθα τοῦ ἡγεμονικοῦ τυγχάνοντος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ κραίνειν καὶ βασιλεύειν τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος· ὅθεν καὶ κρανίον· καὶ κέρατα, τὰ ἐκ τοῦ κρανίου φυόμενα· οὕτω Σωρανός); ibid., p. 491 (Ἰστέον ὅτι, ὡς λέγει ὁ τεχνικὸς, τὸ κάρα, λίπα, ἄλειφα, ἀποκοπή ἐστιν. Ἀεὶ δὲ ὁ ποιητὴς τῷ κάρη χρῆται. Ἐκ τοῦ κέρας γίνεται, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν τρίχα, τροπῇ Ἰωνικῇ τοῦ α εἰς η. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ κείρω ἔκαρον· ἢ ἐκ τοῦ κρὰς κρατός)
Comment
Derivational etymology accounting for the epic inflection of κάρα, Gen. κραατός > κρᾱτός. The accusative κρᾶτα is used only once in Homer (Od. 8.92). The starting point of the etymology is the Genitive κρᾱτός, almost identical with the neuter nominative κράτος "strength, power". The ᾰ is short in the latter, whereas it is long in the former, but the etymology was designed in a time when vowel quantity was no longer phonologically relevant. This enabled scholars to equate κράτος and κρᾱτός and to derive the one from the other. It was customary to turn a word into a different one through a change of inflection type, in that case the nominative of X becomes the genitive of Y. Thus, the etymology does not require any formal manipulation. From the semantic point of view, it refers to the head as the ruling organ of the body, therefore the most powerful. It is a reversible etymology and the reverse derivation is attested (cf. κράτος / κάρα). In Orion's formulation, it is unclear whether this etymology goes back to Soranus or only the etymology by κραίνω does. It is likely that the etymology by κράτος comes from another source (see Le Feuvre, forthcoming)