κέκασμαι + τηρέω

Validation

No

Last modification

Mon, 06/28/2021 - 23:16

Word-form

κασσίτηρος

Transliteration (Word)

kassiteros

English translation (word)

tin

Transliteration (Etymon)

kekasmai + tēreō

English translation (etymon)

to excel + to watch over

Author

Etym. Gudianum

Century

11 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Etym. Gudianum, kappa, p. 32

Ed.

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

Quotation

Κασσίτηρος, ὁ τὴν κόσμησιν τηρῶν· ἢ ὁ κοσμῶν καὶ λαμπρύνων

Translation (En)

Kassiteros "tin": the one watching over (tērôn) the order (kosmēsin). Or the adorning and polishing one

Comment

Compositional elliptic etymology which identifies the first element as derived from a ghost verb *κάζω assumed to be the present matching the perfect κέκασμαι "to excel". From the perfect κέκασμαιwas derived a noun *κάσμος which is supposedly the etymon of κόσμος "order" (this explanation goes back to Philoxenus at least, see κόσμος / κέκασμαι). Here, κασσι- is related to κασ- of κέκασμαι, meaning "to be in order", but instead of the etymon, a semantic equivalent is given, in that case κόσμησιν (since κασ- was understood as meaning "order"). The complete formulation would be *τὴν κάσιν, ὅ ἐστι κόσμησιν, τηρῶν.

Parallels

There is no parallel

Modern etymology

Probably a loanword (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Yes

Entry By

Le Feuvre