κέλυφος
Word
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Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
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Quotation
Κεφαλή: Ἤτοι παρὰ τὸ κάρφεσθαι, τὸ ξηραίνεσθαι, ὁ κατάξηρος τόπος καὶ ὀστώδης· ξηρὰ γὰρ καὶ ὀστώδης· ἢ κατὰ Ἀπολλόδωρον, καλύφη τις οὖσα, παρὰ τὸ καλύπτειν καὶ σκέπειν τὸν ἐγκέφαλον. Τινὲς δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἐκεῖ κεῖσθαι τὰ φάη, κεφαή τις οὖσα, κατὰ πλεονασμὸν τοῦ λ. Οἱ δὲ, παρὰ τὸ κάπω, τὸ πνέω, καπαλὴ, καὶ κεφαλὴ, οἱονεὶ ἡ διαπνέουσα· […] Ἢ παρὰ τὸ κέλυφος, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ κάλυμμα [NB: the Ps.-Zonaras has κατὰ Ἀπολλόδωρον, κελύφη τις οὖσα, παρὰ τὸ καλύπτειν, which is the older wording]
Translation (En)
Kephalē "head": from karphesthai "to dry up", the dry and bony place. Because it is dry and bony. Or, according to Apollodorus, a *kaluphē, from kaluptein "to cover" and to protect the brain. But some say it comes the fact that the eyes (phaē) lie (keisthai) there, a *kephaē, as it were, with addition of [l]. Others, that it comes from *kapō "to breathe", *kapalē, and kephalē, the breathing one […] Or from keluphos, which means "covering"
Parallels
Meletius, De natura hominis, p. 52 (Εἴρηται δὲ κεφαλὴ παρὰ τὸ κάρφεσθαι, ὅ ἐστι ξηραίνεσθαι· ξηρὰ γὰρ καὶ ὀστώδης ἐστί· τινὲς δὲ κελυφὴν αὐτὴν λέγουσι, διὰ τὸ σκέπειν καὶ καλύπτειν τὸν ἐγκέφαλον); Leo Medicus, De natura hominum synopsis 25 (Κεφαλὴ λέγεται παρὰ τὸ κάρφεσθαι, ὅ ἐστι ξηραίνεσθαι· ξηρὰ γὰρ καὶ ὀστώδης ἐστίν· ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς κυφότητος· ἢ κελυ[σ]φὴν διὰ τὸ σκέπειν τὸν ἐγκέφαλον); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 99 (Κεφαλή, […] Παρὰ τὸ κάρφος, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ ξηρὸν, ὁ κατάξηρος τόπος, ἢ παρὰ τὸ κέλυφος, κελυφὴ, καὶ κεφαλή· ἐτυμολογεῖται δὲ παρὰ τὸ ἐκεῖσε κεῖσθαι τὰ φάη); Joannes Mauropus, Etymologica nominum 155-156 (λύει κνέφας δὲ κεφαλὴ δι’ ὀμμάτων, | ἣν τὸ κρανίον ὡς κέλυφός τι σκέπει [although κέλυφος, etymon of κεφαλή, applies to κρανίον instead])
Comment
Derivational etymology. Apollodorus' etymology was καλύπτω → *καλυφή → κελυφή (κέλυφος) → κεφαλή (see κεφαλή / καλύπτω), where κελυφη was understood as the plural of κέλυφος "sheath, shell" (the position of the stress is not a criterion in Greek etymology before Herodian), which provides the [e] of κεφαλή. However, this was no longer understood and was divided into two different etymologies: one by καλύπτω and another one by κέλυφος. The two are mentioned independently in the Etym. Magnum. In the Parallels below are listed only sources in which κέλυφος is mentioned alone (for those in which the full etymology going back to καλύπτω is mentioned, see κεφαλή / καλύπτω)