κραίνω
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 (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. 342 (Κραίνω, τὸ ἄρχω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ κρανίον, καὶ κέρατα, παρὰ τὸ ἄρχειν τοῦ σώματος ὅλου); ibid., 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 (idem, except that οὕτως Ὣρος has been corrected into οὕτω Σωρανός)
Comment
Derivational etymology. The wording is not clear and ὅθεν κρανίον can be related either to the preceding κραίνω or to the lemma κράτα, in which case the etymon of κρανίον is κάρα. Other witnesses going back to Orion (Etygram,. Gudianum, Etym. Magnum) indicate that the first possibility is correct and that the intended etymon is indeed κραίνω. The etymology is formally simple and only implies a metathesis of /i/ and /n/ (implicit). It relies on the idea that the skull is the head and the head is the ruling organ (see κάρα / κραίνω), with the secondary meaning of κραίνω "to rule"