ῥάσσω
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
ῥάχις
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
rhakhis
English translation (word)
spine
Transliteration (Etymon)
rhassō
English translation (etymon)
to strike, to dash
Century
11 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Etym. Gudianum, rho, p. 491
Ed.
F. Sturz, Etymologicum Graecae linguae Gudianum et alia grammaticorum scripta e codicibus manuscriptis nunc primum edita, Leipzig: Weigel, 1818
Quotation
Ῥάχις, παρὰ τὸ διαχωρίζειν τὰς ψιὰς ἀπ’ ἀλλήλων, […] παρὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ τῆ ῥάχει προσράσσειν πάντα τὰ πλευρά.
Translation (En)
Rhakhis "spine", from the fact it divides the <limbs> (text corrupt) from each other, […] from the fact that all the ribs are attached to (prosrhassein) the spine
Parallels
Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 702 (Ῥάχις: Ὡς μὲν Ἀπολλόδωρος, ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥῆξις εἶναι, καὶ τὰ δεξιὰ μέρη διακρίνειν ἀπὸ τῶν εὐωνύμων· ὡς δέ τινες, τράχις, διὰ τὴν τραχύτητα τῶν συνεστηκότων αὐτῇ κονδύλων· […] ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ προσράσσειν πάντα τὰ πλευρά· […] ἢ παρὰ τὸ ῥάσσω)
Modern etymology
Unclear (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
MG has ράχη, with the derivatives ραχιαίος, ραχιτικός, ραχίτιδα
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Derivational etymology. From ῥάσσω "to strike" was taken the secondary meaning "to be fixed into". The spine is etymologized as the bone into which the ribs are inserted.