γράφω
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Γράμματα δὲ λέγονται διὰ τὸ γραμμαῖς καὶ ξυσμαῖς τυποῦσθαι· ἔνθεν καὶ γράβδις ἡ διεσχισμένη λαμπάς, καὶ γραῦς ἡ διεσχισμένη τὸ σῶμα διὰ τὸ γῆρας
Translation (En)
They are called "letters" (grammata) because they are impressed through lines and carvings; from there comes also grabdis, the twofold (lit. "divided") lamp, and graus "old woman", the one whose body displays splits (that is, wrinkles) because of old age
Parallels
Hesychius, Lexicon, gamma 901 (γράπιν· γῆρας τέττιγος, ἢ ὄφεως, καὶ τῶν ἐκδυομένων. καὶ εἶδος ὀρνέου. καὶ ῥυσσόν, ἀπὸ τοῦ γραμμὰς ἔχειν τὰς ῥυτίδας. ὅθεν καὶ ἡ γραῦς ἠτυμολόγηται); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 239 (Γραῦς: Ἡ παλαιὰ γυνή· ἀπὸ τοῦ γράειν, ὅ ἐστιν ἐσθίειν ἢ ξύειν· ἡ ταῖς ῥυτίσι κατεξυσμένη. Ἣ παρὰ τὸ ῥαίω, ῥαῦς καὶ γραῦς, ἡ διαρραισθεῖσα ὑπὸ χρόνου. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ γράφεσθαι, ὅ ἐστι καταξέεσθαι, γραῦς, ἡ κατεξυσμένη τὸ σῶμα διὰ τὸ γῆρας)
Comment
The etymology derives γραῦς from γράφω "to write" (here from the noun γράμμα), and refers to the "lines" (wrinkles) coming with old age. It is a descriptive etymology in which the name of the old woman is etymologized after a physical characteristic of the referent. The details of the derivation are not provided. The derivation from the verb is explicit in Etym. Magnum (see Parallels), which gives correctly the passive form γράφεσθαι as the starting point