τείνω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Θάνατος. τάνατός τις ἐστί. παρὰ τὸ τείνειν τὸ σώμα τῇ ψύξει· ἢ ὅτι ταναός ἐστιν· ἐπὶ πάντας διατείνων ἑαυτόν. ἢ περισσὸν τὸ θ. ἄνατος. ἄνευ γὰρ ἄτης ἐστὶν ὁ ἀποθανών.
Translation (En)
Thanatos “death”: it is a form of *tanatos, because it stretches [teinein] the body by freezing it. Or of tanaos “outstretched”, because it extends [diateinōn] to everyone. Or the /th/ is superfluous, because a dead person is without [aneu] bane [atēs].
Other translation(s)
Thanatos « mort » : c’est une forme de *tanatos, parce qu’elle étire [teinein] le corps en le refroidissant. Ou de tanaos « étendu », parce qu’elle s’étend [diateinō] à tous. Ou bien le /th/ est superflu, parce qu’une personne morte est sans [aneu] fléau [atēs].
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, theta, p. 254 (Θάνατος, παρὰ τὸ τάνατος, τείνει γὰρ τὸ σῶμα τῇ ψύξει); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 442 (Θάνατος: Παρὰ τὸ τείνω, τὸ τανύω, τάνατος καὶ θάνατος, ὁ τείνων τὸ σῶμα τῇ ψύξει); Ps-Zonaras, Lexicon, theta, p. 1021 (Θάνατος Χριστοῦ ἐστι τῶν σαρκικῶν παθῶν νέκρωσις καὶ πάσης δαιμονικῆς ἐνεργείας ἀφάνισις ἀρίστη. θάνατος δὲ παρὰ τὸ τείνω, τάνατος καὶ θάνατος, ὁ τείνων τὸ σῶμα, ἢ ὅτι τάνατός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπὶ πάντας ἑαυτὸν διατείνων)
Comment
Derivational etymology relying on the observation that corpses are stiff. The alleged etymon τείνω does not mean "to become stiff" or "to make stiff", but "to extend", which has little to do with "death", but what is tense is stiff. The etymology implies a formal change, from /t/ to /th/, and probably also a change in the vowels, but this is not explicit.