αὐχμός

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Word-form

αὐχήν

Transliteration (Word)

aukhēn

English translation (word)

neck, nape

Transliteration (Etymon)

aukhmos

English translation (etymon)

drought

Author

Orion

Century

5 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Etymologicum (excerpta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), alpha, p. 612

Ed.

F.W. Sturz, Etymologicum Graecae linguae Gudianum et alia grammaticorum scripta e codicibus manuscriptis nunc primum edita, Leipzig: Weigel, 1818

Quotation

αὐχὴν παρὰ τὸ ξηρὰ εἶναι· καὶ ὀσταόδη, αὐχμὴν γὰρ ὤν

Translation (En)

Aukhēn "neck", from the fact that it is dry and bony, being an *aukhmēn "dryness"

Comment

From αὐχμός "drought" is derived an invented *αὐχμήν, from which then αὐχήν is derived through a formal manipulation, the dropping of [m]. This descriptive etymology refers to the back part of the neck, the nape, not to the throat. It seems to have been invented in order to explain the inflection of αὐχήν (see Theodosius below).

Parallels

Theodosius, Canones isagogici de flexione nominum 4.2.18 (Ὁ σωλήν τοῦ σωλῆνος, ὁ ποιμήν τοῦ ποιμένος· τῶν εἰς ην ὀξυτόνων ὅσα μὲν ἔχει τὸ μ ἐπὶ τῆς εὐθείας διὰ τοῦ ε κλίνεται, ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἔχει τὸ μ τὸ η φυλάσσει· καὶ τὸ αὐχήν οὖν αὐχένος ἐκλίθη· αὐχμήν γὰρ τὸ ἐντελέστερον "oxytone nouns in ήν having [m] in the nominative inflects with [e], those without [m] keep the [ē]: and therefore αὐχήν inflects αὐχένος, because the more complete form is αὐχμήν"); Choeroboscus, Prolegomena et scholia in Theodosii Alexandrini Canones isagogicos de flexione nominum p. 264 (Καὶ τὸ αὐχήν αὐχένος· λέγει ὅτι αὐχμήν ἦν τὸ ἐντελέστερον (ὁ γὰρ τράχηλος αὐχμηρὸς καὶ κατάξηρός ἐστι), καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τρέπει τὸ η εἰς τὸ ε ἐν τῇ γενικῇ ὡς ἔχον δυνάμει τὸ μ·); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 1432 (Αὐχήν· ὁ τράχηλος· εἴρηται παρὰ τὸ αὐχμήν αὐχήν, ὁ κατάξηρος τόπος τοῦ σώματος. ἢ παρὰ τὸ † ἔχω ὀχήν καὶ αὐχήν, ἐφ’ οὗ ὀχεῖται ἡ κεφαλή. ἢ παρὰ τὸ αὐχεῖν καὶ γαυριᾶν γίνεται αὐχήν· γαυριῶντες γὰρ καὶ ἐπαιρόμενοι ἀνατείνομεν αὐτόν· οὕτως δὲ καὶ τραχηλιᾶν τινας λέγομεν. οὕτως Μεθόδιος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 174 (idem); Etym. Gudianum, alpha, p. 238 (Αὐχήν· παρὰ τὸ[ν] αὐχμός· ξηρὸς γὰρ ὁ τράχηλος καὶ ὀστώδης); Eustathius, Comm. Od. 2, 269 Stallbaum (ἄλλως γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἁπαλὸς αὐχὴν λέγοιτο ὁ σκληρὸς καὶ παρὰ τὸν αὐχμὸν ἐτυμολογούμενος διὰ τὰ κατ’ αὐτὸν ὀστᾶ ὡς οἷά τις αὐχμήν. διὸ καὶ διὰ τοῦ ε κλίνεται, ἵνα ὥς πέρ ἐστι ποιμὴν ποιμένος, οὕτω καὶ αὐχμὴν αὐχμένος, καὶ διὰ τὸ εὐφωνότερον αὐχὴν αὐχένος. ἄλλως γάρ, φασιν, εἴ περ μὴ φύσει εἶχε τὸ μῦ, διὰ τοῦ η ἐκλίνετο ἂν, ὡς τὸ σωλὴν σωλῆνος καὶ τὰ ὅμοια); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 533 (s.v. λειχήν: Καίτοι παρὰ τὸν αὐχμὸν αὐχὴν, καὶ τράχηλος, παρὰ τὸ τραχύ); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 342 ([Αὐχήν. ὁ τράχηλος. παρὰ τὸ ἀχμὴν, ὁ κατάξηρος τόπος τοῦ σώματος. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ὄχω, ὀχὴν καὶ αὐχὴν, ὑφ’ οὗ ὀχεῖται ἡ κεφαλή. ἢ παρὰ τὸ αὐχεῖν καὶ γαυριᾷν γίνεται αὐχήν. γαυριῶντες γὰρ καὶ ἐπαιρόμενοι ἀνατείνομεν αὐτόν.])

Modern etymology

Aeolic has ἄμφην (Theocritus). Probably from *h22mg̑h-ú- "narrowness", found in OCS ǫzъkъ "narrow". Cognate with Arm. awjik‘ "neck". Isolated within Greek (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has αυχένας as the name of the back part of the neck

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