ἄγνυμι
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Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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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 corn <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
Apollonius Soph., Lexicon homericum, p. 23 (ἀλφίτου ἀκτήν περιφραστικῶς αὐτὸ τὸ ἄλφιτον, ἀπὸ τοῦ κατάγνυσθαι τὴν κριθήν. σημαίνει δὲ τὸ βέλτιστον καὶ μᾶλλον ἀπολύσιμον τῆς κριθῆς); Pophyry, Quaestionum homericarum ad Odysseam pertinentium reliquiae, Od. 7.104 (καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις ἔφη μυληφάτου ἀλφίτου ἀκτῆς (β 355). ἔστι δὲ ἡ ἀκτὴ οὐ τὸ κατεαγμένον, ὥς τινες, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐξέχον, ἐκ μεταφορᾶς τῶν κατὰ τοὺς αἰγιαλοὺς ἐξοχῶν, ἃς ἀκτὰς λέγει· ἀκτῇ ἐπὶ προὐχούσῃ (ω 82)· τὸ ἄκρον οὖν καὶ ἐξέχον τοῦ ἀλφίτου); Schol. Od. 7.104 (idem); 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); 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); Etym. Symeonis, delta 173 (Δημήτερος ἀκτήν· διὰ τὸ κατάγνυσθαι ἐν τῷ ἅλωνι τὸν στάχυν τὸν εὐαγῆ· ἢ αὐτὸν τὸν σῖτον ἐν τῷ μύλωνι θραύεσθαι); D Schol. Il. 13.322 (ἀκτήν. Τὸν σῖτον. ἐπεὶ κατασσόμενος, καὶ ἀλούμενος, ἄρτος γίγνεται); 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. The second part goes back to Philoxenus. Whether the first part, assuming that ἀκτή2 is a metaphorical use of ἀκτή1 meaning therefore "summit, top", goes back to Philoxenus, too, is not certain. This was Porphyry's explanation (see ἀκτή2 / ἀκτή1)