ῥάχις

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No

Last modification

Wed, 10/12/2022 - 14:52

Word-form

τραχύς

Transliteration (Word)

trakhus

English translation (word)

rough

Transliteration (Etymon)

rhakhis

English translation (etymon)

spine

Author

Choeroboscus

Century

9 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Epimerismi in Psalmos p. 167

Ed.

T. Gaisford, Georgii Choerobosci epimerismi in Psalmos, vol. 3, Oxford, 1842

Quotation

Ταραχώδους, ἡ εὐθεῖα ταραχώδης, παρὰ τὸ τράχος· τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ τραχύς· τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ ῥάχις· τραχεῖα γὰρ καὶ ὀστώδης ἡ ῥάχις.

Translation (En)

Tarakhōdous "tumultuous", the nominative is tarakhōdēs, from *trakhos, the latter from trakhus "rough", the latter from rhakhis "spine", because the spine is rough and bony

Comment

Derivational etymology relying on one characteristic feature of the spine. This is a metaphorical definition of the spine. Formally, it implies the addition of one consonant at the beginning of the word. The etymology is reversible (see ῥάχις / τραχύς)

Parallels

Etym. Gudianum, tau, p. 522 (Ταραχώδους, ἡ εὐθεῖα ταραχώδης· ἢ παρὰ τὸ τάραχος, τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ τραχὺς, ῥαχία καὶ τραχία· καὶ γὰρ ὀστωδὴς ἡ ῥάχις); ibid., tau, p. 534 (Τραχὺς, ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῆς ῥάχεος, ὀστώδης ἐστί); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 764 (Τραχύς: Σημαίνει τὸν σκληρόν· ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῆς ῥάχεως· αὕτη γὰρ ὀστώδης ἐστίν. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ τάραχος, ταραχὺς, καὶ τραχύς· ὁ γὰρ τραχὺς τάραχον ποιεῖ)

Modern etymology

Within Greek, probably belongs with θράσσω "to trouble, to disturb" and the group of ταράσσω "to trouble", ταραχή (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has τραχύς "rough"

Entry By

Le Feuvre