κρεμάννυμι + νόος
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
κρανίον
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
kranion
English translation (word)
skull
Transliteration (Etymon)
kremannumi + noos
English translation (etymon)
to hang up + mind
Source
Etym. Gudianum
Ref.
Etym. Gudianum, kappa, p. 343
Ed.
F. Sturz, Etymologicum Graecae linguae Gudianum et alia grammaticorum scripta e codicibus manuscriptis nunc primum edita, Leipzig: Weigel, 1818
Quotation
Κρανίον, ἐν ᾧ κρέμ<α>ται ὁ νοῦς (The Gudianum has κρέμεται)
Translation (En)
Kranion "skull", in which the mind (nous) is hanging up (krematai)
Parallels
Scholion to Anastasius Sin., Viae dux 2.8 (Κρανίον γάρ, ἐν ᾧ κρέμαται ὁ νοῦς, εἴρηται); Meletius, De natura hominis, p. 52 (ἢ κράνιον παρὰ τὸ κραίνειν καὶ βασιλεύειν τοῦ ἄλλου σώματος· ἢ διὰ τὸ κρέμασθαι ἐκεῖ τὸν ἐγκέφαλον)
Modern etymology
Derivative of κάρα "head", *kr̥h2s-n-io- (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG still has κρανίο "skull" in the anatomical vocabulary
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Compositional etymology relying on a segmentation κρα-ν-ἰον, where κρα- is identified as a form of κρεμάννυμι and the -ν- as the initial consonant of νόος. Νόος is an equivalent for "brain", which can be described as suspended in the skull. Meletius reformulates this etymology and substitutes νόος by ἐγκέφαλος, thereby losing the etymon. The fact the etymology is found both in Meletius (with a secondary modification) and the Gudianum makes it likely that it goes back to Orion. However, where Orion took it from is unclear. It may be from Soranus but there is no positive evidence