στάσις + εὖρος
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
σταυρός
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
stauros
English translation (word)
upright pale, (later) cross
Transliteration (Etymon)
stasis + euros
English translation (etymon)
stand + width
Century
7/8 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Viae dux 2, 8, 24-25
Ed.
K.-H. Uthemann, Anastasius Sinaïtae viae dux [Corpus Christianorum. Series Graeca 8], Turnhout, 1981
Quotation
Σταυρός, “στα-ευρος“, στάσις καὶ εὖρος ἤγουν μῆκος καὶ πλάτος· εὖρος γὰρ τὸ πλάτος ἐστίν
Translation (En)
Stauros "cross", sta-euros, from stasis "stand" and euros "width", that is, length and breadth. Because euros means "width"
Parallels
Etym. Gudianum, sigma, p. 509 (Παρὰ τὴν στάσις καὶ τὸ εὖρος); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 725 (Παρὰ τὸ στάσις καὶ εὖρος); Pseudo-Zonaras, Lexicon, sigma 1668 (Παρὰ τὴν στάσις καὶ τὸ εὖρος)
Modern etymology
The word has an exact counterpart in Old Icelandic staurr. A name is supposed on the basis of Latin instaurare "re-establish". Indo-European root *steh2- (Lat. stare, Gr. histēmi, Skt. tiṣthati, Engl. stay, stand, Germ. stehen)
Persistence in Modern Greek
The word is used in MG to denote: a) the 'cross', made of two pieces of wood for execution, b) the symbol of Jesus Christ and Christianity, c) the figure of a cross, d) the gesture of a cross, e) any object figuring a cross (Triandafyllidis, Dict. of MG)
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Paronymic etymology founded in Christian belief, the Cross extending over the whole world, hence the idea of width