διάφραγμα

Forms

δῐᾰ́φρᾰγμᾰ (diáphragma) n (genitive δῐᾰφρᾰ́γμᾰτος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun of result formed from Ancient Greek διαφράσσω (diaphrássō, “to barricade, partition”) + -μα (-ma).^[1][2][3] The verb is a compound of διά (diá, “through, apart”) and φράσσω (phrássō, “to fence in”).^[3][4] Beekes takes the simple verb, with its two stems ⟨φρακ-⟩ and ⟨φαρκ-⟩, to be perhaps a substrate word, since it has no convincing correspondence outside Greek; the old connection with Latin farciō (“to stuff”) is quite uncertain.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest record is in Thucydides, for a partition dividing a hut in two.^[6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Plato's Timaeus uses it for the muscle that separates the chest from the belly, the midriff, and the medical writers followed.^[6][7] Aristotle used it for the cartilage between the nostrils, a Hippocratic writer for the soft palate, and Galen for the membranes between the cavities of the heart and in the brain.^[6][7]

In buildings and engineering it was any wooden or stone partition, a barrier closing a harbour, and in the Egyptian papyri of the 3rd century BC a lock or sluice in a canal.^[7][6] Cyril of Alexandria used it figuratively for the barrier that sins set between people and God.^[7]

Through Late Latin diaphragma it passed into English as diaphragm in the late 14th century.^[4][3] Modern Greek διάφραγμα (diáfragma) is a learned word: besides the muscle, its senses in botany and in technology, such as the membrane of a loudspeaker, follow French diaphragme and the English word.^[9]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Thucydides uses it for a partition.^[6][7]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it for the midriff.^[6][7]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for the cartilage between the nostrils.^[6][7]
• 3rd century BC – Papyri use it for a lock in a canal.^[7][6]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it for the membranes dividing the heart and the brain.^[6][7]
• 5th century AD – Cyril of Alexandria uses it figuratively for a barrier between people and God.^[7]
• Late 14th century – English borrows it through Late Latin, as diaphragm.^[4]
• Modern Greek – It is a learned word for the muscle and for technical partitions and membranes.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A partition or barrier of wood or stone; a barrier closing a harbour.^[6][7][2]
2. A lock or sluice in a canal; a dam.^[6][7]
3. (anatomy) The diaphragm, the muscle between the chest and the belly.^[6][2][7]
4. (anatomy) Any dividing membrane: the cartilage between the nostrils, the soft palate, the septum of the heart or brain.^[6][7]
5. (figurative) An obstacle, a barrier.^[7]

Word family

• διαφραγμάτιον (diaphragmátion)

Related words

• φράσσω (phrássō)
• φράγμα (phrágma)
• English diaphragm

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
3. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
8. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki