κρούω + ἁφή
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
Τὰ δὲ πρὸς μήνιγγας ἔνθεν κακεῖθεν κρόταφοι λέγονται, ὅτι κρούουσι τὴν ἁφὴν <π>αλλόμενοι, οἷον κρούταφοι· ἢ ὅτι τῆς κόρσεως ἅπτονται· κόρσις δὲ ἡ κεφαλὴ, παρὰ τὸ κορυφοῦσθαι [NB: Meletius has βαλλόμενοι instead of παλλόμενοι. The correct παλλόμενοι is restored here after Leo Medicus and The Gudianum]
Translation (En)
The part next to the membrane on both sides is called krotaphoi "temples", because they knock (krouousi) when you touch them (tēn haphēn), bouncing, as though it were *kroutaphoi; or because they are in contact with the korsis, and korsis means "head", from koruphousthai "to bring to a head".
Parallels
Leo Medicus, De natura hominum synopsis 28 (οἱ δὲ κρόταφοι ἐκ τοῦ κρούεσθαι τὴν ἁφὴν παλλόμενοι. ); Etym Gudianum, p. 349 (Κρόταφοι, κυρίως μὲν ἡ λέξις ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων τῶν κερατοφόρων, διὰ τὸ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν μερῶν φύεσθαι τὰ κέρατα, οἱονεὶ κερατοφόροι τινὲς ὄντες, ἢ ὅτι κρούουσι τὴν ἁφὴν παλλόμενοι, οἷον κρούταφοι· ὡς δὲ Ἀπολλόδωρος, ὅτι συγκεκρότηνται ἀμφοτέρωθεν· ὁ δὲ Ἀπίων, ὅτι τοῦ κρόσσου ἅπτονται, τουτ’ἔστι τῆς κεφαλῆς. οὕτως Ὦρος; Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 541 (Κρόταφοι: Κυρίως ἐπὶ τῶν ζῴων τῶν κερατοφόρων, διὰ τὸ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν μερῶν φύεσθαι κέρατα, οἱονεὶ κερατοφόροι τινες ὄντες· ἢ ὅτι κρούουσι τὴν ἁφὴν παλλόμενοι, οἷον κρούταφοι ὡς δὲ Ἀπολλόδωρος, ὅτι συγκεκρότηνται ἀμφοτέρωθεν· ὡς δὲ Ἀπίων, ὅτι τῆς κόρσης ἅπτονται, τουτέστι τῆς κεφαλῆς. Οὕτως Σωρανός. Ἢ παρὰ τὴν κόρσην, κόρσαφος, καὶ κόρταφος· καὶ ἐν ὑπερθέσει, κρόταφος. Ἢ ὅτι τῆς κόρσης ἁφή ἐστι· κόρση, κρόση· καὶ κρόσας· καὶ τὸ κροσὸς οὕτως ἐτυμολογεῖται ἀπὸ τοῦ τέλους· φησὶ γὰρ, ἡ κεφαλὴ τὸ τελευταῖον ὁ κροσὸς καλεῖται. Ἢ ὅτι ὁ κρουόμενος εἰς αὐτὸν, τάφον ἔχει, καὶ ἔμπληκτος γίνεται, ὡς τὸ, ‘τάφος δ’ ἕλε πάντας Ἀχαιούς’); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, kappa, p. 1251 (Κρόταφον. τὸν μήνιγγα λέγει. ὁ ἅμα τῇ κρούσει τὸν τάφον φέρων. ἢ ὅτι τῆς κόρσης καὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐστὶν ἁφή. κρόταφος δὲ κυρίως ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων τῶν κερατοφόρων, διὰ τὸ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν μερῶν φύεσθαι τὰ κέρατα· οἱονεὶ κερατοφόροι τινὲς ὄντες. ἢ ὅτι κρούουσι τὴν ἁφὴν παλλόμενοι, οἷον κρούταφοι. ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλόδωρος, ὅτι συγκεκρότηνται ἀμφοτέρωθεν. ὁ δὲ Ἀπίων, ὅτι τοῦ κροσσοῦ ἅπτονται, τουτέστι τῆς κεφαλῆς)
Comment
Compositional etymology, etymologizing the word by a characteristic feature of the referent: you can feel the pulse when you touch the temple. From the semantic point of view, this etymology is similar to the derivational one (see κρόταφος / κρότος). The first member is assumed to be κρούω, because the latter was probably considered to be the etymon of the word κρότος. This etymology requires two formal manipulations, addition of /t/ and loss of /u/. This etymology found in Meletius and in the Byzantine Etymologica comes from Orion, although it is lost in Orion's manuscripts. It is more difficult to say what the source of Orion was: it may have been Heraclides, since Philoxenus is not a likely source and a different etymology is attributed to Soranus (see κρόταφος / κόρση + ἅπτω)