δείκνυμι

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Sat, 08/19/2023 - 10:05

Word-form

δάκτυλοι

Transliteration (Word)

daktulos

English translation (word)

finger

Transliteration (Etymon)

deiknumi

English translation (etymon)

to show

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

idem

Ref.

Etymologicum, delta, p. 46

Ed.

F. Sturz, Orionis Thebani etymologicon, Leipzig, Weigel, 1820

Quotation

Δάκτυλοι. οἷον δράκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δρᾶσαι· ἢ δέκτιλοι τινὲς εἰσὶν, δεκτικοὶ, ὄντες τῶν διδομένων· ἢ δείκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὴν δεῖξιν.

Translation (En)

Daktuloi "fingers", *draktuloi, as it were, from drasai "to act"; or *dektiloi, so to speak, for they receive (dektikoi) what is given; or *deiktuloi, from the fact that we show (deixin) things with them

Comment

Derivational etymology. One of the functions of the finger is to point at something, hence the etymology of the noun as "the showing one". It implies a formal change from /ei/ to /a/, which is ad hoc.

Parallels

Orion, Etymologicum (excerpta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), delta, p. 613 (δάκτυλος ἀποβαλῆ τοῦ ρ· δράκτυλος γὰρ ἦν ἀπὸ τοῦ δράσασθαι τὰ διδόμενα, ἢ ὅτι δι’ αὐτοῦ, αἱ δείξεις γίνονται); Meletius, De natura hominis, p. 121 (Οἱ δὲ δάκτυλοι δράκτυλοί τινες εἰσὶ, παρὰ τὸ δράττεσθαι· ἢ δέκτυλοι, δεκτικοὶ ὄντες τῶν διδομένων· ἢ δείκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὰς δείξεις); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, delta, p. 332 (Δάκτυλοι· <οἷον δράκτυλοι>, παρὰ τὸ δράττεσθαι· ἢ δέκτυλοι, δεκτικοὶ ὄντες· ἢ δείκτυλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν γίνεσθαι τὴν δεῖξιν); Eustathius, Comm. Il., vol. 2, p. 697 (ἐξ οὗ δέκνω δεκνύω δέκνυμι, καὶ πλεονασμῷ δείκνυμι, ἀφ’ οὗ μεταφορικῶς δείκνυσθαι λέγεται καὶ τὸ δακτύλῳ ἢ ἄλλως ὁπωσοῦν γνώριμόν τι ποιεῖν); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 256 (Δάκτυλος: Παρὰ τὸ δράσσω, δράκτυλος τὶς ὤν· παρὰ γὰρ τὸ δράσσεσθαι. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέχω, δέξω, δέδεχα, δέδεγμαι, δέδεκται, δέκτυλος, καὶ δάκτυλος· καὶ δάκτυλοι, οἱ δεκτικοὶ ὄντες τῶν διδομένων. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δείκω, τὸ δεικνύω, δείκτυλοι, καὶ δάκτυλοι· δι’ αὐτῶν γὰρ ἡ δεῖξις γίνεται); Etym. Symeonis, delta 27 (Δάκτυλος· παρὰ τὸ δράσσω δράκτυλος καὶ δάκτυλος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέχω δέξω δέδεχα δέδεγμαι δέδεκται, δέκτυλος καὶ δάκτυλος· οἱ ὄντες δεκτικοὶ τῶν διδομένων. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ δείκω, τὸ δεικνύω, δείκτυλοι καὶ δάκτυλοι· δι’ αὐτῶν γὰρ ἡ δεῖξις γίνεται); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, delta, p. 464 (idem, save for the beginning (Παρὰ τὸ δράσσω, δράκτυλος τὶς ὤν· ἢ παρὰ τὸ δέχω)

Modern etymology

Unknown (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has δάχτυλο "finger", and with the older form δακτύλιος "ring", δακτυλικός (learned) "finger-".

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