ἄγνυμι
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Reference
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Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
ἀλφίτου ἀκτήν· […] ἢ ὅτι ὥσπερ ὁ εἰς θάλασσαν καθήκων τόπος ἔσχατος ὢν τῆς ἠπείρου ἀκτὴ λέγεται, οὕτω καὶ τὸ ἔσχατον τοῦ ἀλεύρου εἶναι προπονηθέντων εἰς τὸν καρπόν. ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄσσεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ μύλου καθάπερ καὶ τὰ κύματα τῆς θαλάσσης ἐν τῷ αἰγιαλῷ, ὃς ἀκτὴ καλεῖται. οὕτως Φιλόξενος εἰς τὸ Ῥηματικὸν αὑτοῦ.
Translation (En)
Alphitou aktēn "flour" […] or because, as the place of the dry land closest to the sea is called aktē "promontory", similarly the upmost part of the grain <is called aktē> when they are prepared, for the cereal. Or from the fact it is broken (assesthai) by the millstone, very much like the waves of the sea <break> on the seashore, which is called aktē. Thus says Philoxenus in his On deverbal nouns.
Parallels
Ptolemaeus, De differentia vocabulorum, p. 389 (ἀκταὶ μέν εἰσιν οἱ πετρώδεις τόποι παρακείμενοι τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄγνυσθαι τὰ κύματα ταῖς πέτραις προσαρασσόμενα); Orion, Etymologicum (Excerpta e cod. regio 2610), p. 175 (Ἀκτή· παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι τὰ κύματα); Orion, Etymologicum (Excerpta e cod. Vat. gr. 1456), 33 (Ἀκτή· παρὰ τὸ κατεαγνῦσθαι τὰ κύματα); Epimerismi homerici Il. 1.34c (ἀκτή μὲν οὖν εἴρηται ὁ πετρώδης αἰγιαλός, παρὰ τὸ ἄγνυσθαι καὶ κλᾶσθαι ἐκεῖ τ⸤ὰ κύματα); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 379 (Ἀκτή· ὁ παραθαλάσσιος τόπος. σημαίνει δὲ δύο· καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ καρποῦ παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι ἐν τῷ ἀλήθεσθαι, οἷον (Ν 322, Φ 76)· ‘Δημήτερος ἀκτή’· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ θαλασσίου παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι καὶ κλᾶσθαι εἰς αὐτὴν τὰ κύματα); Etym. Symeonis, vol. 1, p. 242 (idem); Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p. 77 (Ἀκτή· παρὰ τὸ κατεάχθαι καὶ καταλελύσθαι. σημαίνει δὲ δύο· τὸν αἰγιαλόν, ⟦ὡς⟧ τὸ <Β 395> „ἀκτῇ ἐφ’ ὑψηλῇ“, καὶ γίνεται παρὰ τὸ κατάσσεσθαι εἰς αὐτὴν τὰ κύματα· σημαίνει δὲ καὶ τὸ λεπτότατον τοῦ ἀλεύρου, ὡς τὸ <Ν 322> „Δημήτερος ἀκτή“, γίνεται δὲ παρὰ τὸ κατάσσεσθαι αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ ἀλήθεσθαι); ibid., p. 77 (Ἀκτή· παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι τὰ κύματα); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, alpha, p. 76 (Ἀκτή· παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι τὰ κύματα, ἤγουν [κε]κλᾶσθαι); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 54 (Ἀκτή: Ἡ Ἀττική· οἱ μὲν, ἀπό τινος βασλεύοντος Ἀκταίωνος· οἱ δὲ, ἀπὸ τοῦ τὰ πλείονα μέρη εἰς θάλασσαν ἐκνενευκέναι. Σημαίνει δὲ τρία. Λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὁ καρπὸς, παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι ἐν τῷ ἀλήθεσθαι Δημήτερος ἀκτήν. Ζήτει εἰς τὸ πρῶτον. Ἀκτὴ καὶ ὁ αἰγιαλὸς τῆς θαλάσσης, ὁ παρὰ θάλασσαν καὶ πετρώδης τόπος· παρὰ τὸ ἄγω τὸ κλάνω· παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι καὶ κλᾶσθαι εἰς αὐτὴν τὰ κύματα); ibid., p. 73 (Ἀλφίτου ἀκτήν: Τὸ ἀλφίτου ἀκτὴν κατὰ ἀφαίρεσιν· εἶναι γὰρ μακτήν. Οἱ δὲ φασὶν, ὅτι ἄκρον ἐκάλουν τὸν καρπόν· ἔνθεν καὶ ἀκρόδρυα. Ἢ ὅτι ὥσπερ ὁ εἰς θάλασσαν καθήκων τόπος, ἔσχατος ὢν τῆς ἠπείρου, ἀκτὴ λέγεται, οὕτω καὶ τὸ ἔσχατον τοῦ ἀλεύρου, προπονηθέντα ἔχον τὸν καρπόν· ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄσσεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ μύλου, καθὰ καὶ τὰ κύματα τῆς θαλάσσης ἐν τοῖς αἰγιαλοῖς, ὃς ἀκτὴ καλεῖται); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 107 (Ἀκτή. ὁ αἰγιαλὸς, ὁ πετρώδης καὶ ἀγχιβαθής. παρὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι καὶ κλᾶσθαι ἐν αὐτῇ τὰ κύματα); Geneva scholion Il. 11.631 (ἀλφίτου ἱεροῦ ἀκτὴν] ἤτοι ἄλφιτα περιφραστικῶς, ἢ ἄρτον—ὁτὲ δὲ <τὸν> αἰγιαλὸν, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄγνυσθαι αὐτῷ τὰ <κύματα>)
Comment
Derivational etymology, aiming at unifying the two different meanings of ἀκτή by providing only one etymology. Ἀκτή1 "promontory" is where the waves break (ἄγνυμαι, here under the more recent form (κατ)άσσω), therefore ἀκτή2 "flour" is the grain that has been crushed by the millstone. In the case of ἀκτή1 "promontory", the meaning is local "on which the waves break", in the case of ἀκτή2 "flour" it is passive "that which has been broken/crushed": this difference was not a problem for Greek etymologists.