γέρανος

Forms

γέρᾰνος (géranos) m or f (genitive γερᾰ́νου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂-n-, the old Indo-European name of the crane, formed with an -n- suffix, and Hesychius also has an n-stem γέρην (gérēn), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵerh₂-ēn.^[2][1]

The -n- form is seen in Old Armenian կռունկ (kṙunk), Old English cran, Old High German kranuh and Lithuanian garnỹs (“heron, stork”); a u-stem appears in Latin grūs, Lithuanian gérvė and Old Church Slavonic жеравь (žeravĭ).^[2][3] Beekes connects the root with *ǵerh₂- (“old”), the root of γέρων (gérōn), γῆρας (gêras) and γραῦς (graûs).^[2] The DGE and Babiniotis derive the name from a root meaning “to cry”, after the bird's call.^[4][5]

Byzantine etymologists took it as the bird that searches the earth, from γῆ (gê, “earth”) and ἐρευνάω (ereunáō, “to search”), or that loves or looks at the ground.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from the Iliad on, meaning the crane, the bird Grus cinerea.^[3][7] Hesiod's Works and Days also mentions it.^[3]

Semantic evolution

By resemblance the word was given to things that resemble it: a crane for lifting weights, used above all in the theatre, and, according to Hesychius, a quern.^[3][2] The crane dance of Delos, which imitated the birds, was called by the same name.^[3][8] In Aelian it is a fish, and in Cyrene it meant rain.^[3][4] From it came γεράνιον (geránion), the geranium.^[2]

In the Hellenistic period it became masculine, and in medieval Greek the accent moved, perhaps after πελαργός (pelargós, “stork”).^[9][5] Modern Greek γερανός (geranós) is both the bird and a lifting crane, and Babiniotis sees the modern technical term as a semantic loan from English.^[9][5]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for the crane.^[3][7]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod's Works and Days mentions the crane.^[3][4]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus mentions cranes.^[7]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus uses it as a masculine.^[3][4]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch describes the crane dance.^[3][8]
• 2nd century AD – Pollux describes the crane used in the theatre.^[3][4]
• 2nd–3rd century AD – Aelian uses it for a fish.^[3][4]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek γερανός (geranós) is the bird and a lifting machine.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The crane, the bird.^[3][8]
2. A crane for lifting weights, especially in the theatre.^[3]
3. A quern.^[3]
4. A dance imitating the movements of cranes, danced on Delos.^[3][8]
5. (masculine) A fish.^[3]
6. (Cyrenaic) Rain.^[3][4]

Word family

• γεράνιον (geránion)

Related words

• γέρων (gérōn)
• γῆρας (gêras)
• Latin grūs
• English crane

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
6. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
7. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b c d Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
9. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki