ἀ- + κονέω
Word
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
ἠκονημένον, […] τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ ἀκόνη· ἔστι δὲ λίθος δι’ οὗ ὀξύνεται ὁ σίδηρος, τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ κονῶ, τὸ φθείρω, καὶ λεπτύνω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ κόνις, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιτατικοῦ Α ἡ λεπτύνουσα τὸν σίδηρον· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἀκὴν, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν ὄξυσιν [ὀξύτητα].
Translation (En)
Ēkonēmenos "sharpened" […] this word is derived from akonē "whetstone": it is the stone by means of which iron is sharpened. And this word comes from konô "to destroy, to make thinner", from which comes also konis "dust", and with the intensive alpha, akonē, that which makes iron thinner. Or it comes from akē, which means "sharpness".
Parallels
Etym. Genuinum, alpha 345 (Ἀκόνη· ὁ λίθος, δι’ οὗ ὀξύνεται ὁ σίδηρος· παρὰ τὸ κονῶ, τὸ φθείρω καὶ λεπτύνω, τοῦ α ἐπιτατικοῦ ὄντος, ἡ διαφθείρουσα καὶ λεπτύνουσα τὸν σίδηρον. καὶ Εὐριπίδης (Hipp. 821) "κατακονᾷ μὲν οὖν ἀβίοτος βίου·" κονεῖν γὰρ τὸ λεπτύνειν, ὡς τὸ σποδεῖν, τουτέστι κινεῖν ποιοῦσα. ἢ παρὰ τὴν ἀκήν, τὴν ὀξύτητα); Etym. Symeonis 1, p. 224 (idem); Etym. Gudianum, alpha p. 69 (Ἀκόνη· ὁ λίθος, δι’ οὗ τὸν σίδηρον ὀξύνομεν· παρὰ τὸ κονῶ, τὸ φθείρω καὶ λεπτύνω, μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιτατικοῦ α. ἢ παρὰ τὸ κονῶ, τὸ ἐνεργῶ); ibid., eta, p. 239 (same notice as in Choeroboscus); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 104 (Ἀκόνη. παρὰ τὸ κονῶ τὸ ἐνεργῶ, ἢ κονῶ τὸ λεπτύνω καὶ φθείρω, ἐπιτάσει τοῦ α, ἡ διαφθείρουσα καὶ λεπτύνουσα τὸν σίδηρον)
Comment
The word, as almost every "long" word, is parsed as a compound with intensive alpha. The alleged verb form κονέω does not exist as such, it is found only in preverbed verbs (ἐγκονέω "to be active"), but for some reason it was put in relation with κόνις "dust", hence the idea of destroying through removing chips or particles as fine as dust, which leads to the idea that the verb can also be found in the name of the whetstone which removes particles to make a blade thinner and sharper. Another explanation, with the same two elements, understands it as "very active", giving to κονέω the meaning "to be active" which is that of ἐγκονέω.