κερατοφόρος
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Κρόταφοι: Κυρίως ἐπὶ τῶν ζῴων τῶν κερατοφόρων, διὰ τὸ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν μερῶν φύεσθαι κέρατα, οἱονεὶ κερατοφόροι τινες ὄντες·
Translation (En)
Krotaphoi "temples". In its proper meaning it applies to horned animals, because their horns grow from this place, as though the temples were "horn-bearers" (keratophoroi).
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, kappa, 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); 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); Scholia in Batrachomyomachiam 131 (κρόταφος ἡ μῆνιγξ· παρὰ τὸ κρούω καὶ τὸ τάφος, ὁ ἐν τῷ κρούεσθαι ἅμα καὶ τὸν τάφον δεχόμενος. ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ κηρύσσειν τὸν τάφον· ἅμα γάρ τις τρωθεὶς παρ’ αὐτὰ καὶ τὸν τάφον δέχεται. ἢ ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς τῶν κερασφόρων ζώων, κερατοφόρος τις ὢν καὶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν καὶ μετάθεσιν κρόταφος. ἢ ὥς φησιν ὁ μέγας Θεσσαλονίκης, οὗ τὸ κλέος περίπυστον, κρόταφος ὁ μέσον τῆς κάρας, τῶν ὤτων καὶ τοῦ φωτὸς κείμενος [Moschopoulos]); Scholia in Hesiodum, Op. 179 (scholia vetera et recentiora) (Αἱ μήνιγγες δὲ λέγονται, καὶ κρόταφοι, ἀπὸ τῶν κερασφόρων ζώων μεταφορικῶς· ἐκεῖθε γὰρ τοῖς κερατοφόροις τὰ κέρατα ἐκφύονται, κερατόφυοί τινες καὶ κρόταφοι)
Comment
The word is derived from a compound existing in the language. The etymology relies on an analogy between man and horned mammals, since the horns grow on the head of the latter from a place which is roughly where the temples are on a human head. Therefore, the etymologist assumes that this word properly referred to the temples of horned animals and was by extension applied to humans. The lemma is obtained through the loss of several phonemes.