λακίς

Forms

λᾰκῐ́ς (lakís) f (genitive λᾰκῐ́δος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

According to Wiktionary it is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *lakíds, from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂k- (“to tear”), and compares Latin lacer (“torn”) and lancinō (“to tear to pieces”).^[1] Beekes finds an Indo-European root hard to set up and gives *lh₂k- only with a question mark.^[2]

Beekes, Frisk and Chantraine suggest that λακίς was formed on a noun, perhaps an s-stem λάκος (lákos) (Chantraine notes that this singular is attested at Dodona), or on a verb.^[2][3][4] Such an s-stem may also lie behind lacerō (“to tear”), formed like vulnerō (“to wound”) from vulnus (“wound”), from which the adjective would then be a back-formation.^[2][4][3] The old primary verb, replaced in Greek by λακίζω (lakízō), survives only in the Cypriot gloss ἀπέληκα (apélēka, “I have broken”) in Hesychius, read as a root aorist with a long vowel.^[3][2] Latin lacinia (“flap of a garment”) and Persian رخنه (raxna, “rent, cleft”) have been compared, the latter doubtfully.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alcaeus (7th–6th century BC) uses the plural for the rents in a sail.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Aeschylus the word is used of the tearing of clothes in mourning, and with a genitive it describes torn garments.^[5] Aristophanes parodies this tragic use.^[5][4] It is rare after the classical period, though later prose writers such as Diodorus Siculus still use it.^[4][7]

From it came the verb λακίζω (lakízō) “to tear”, used by Lycophron and in the Greek Anthology, and λακίσματα (lakísmata) “shreds” in Euripides.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 7th–6th century BC – Alcaeus uses the plural for rents in sail-cloth.^[5][6]
• 6th–5th century BC – Aeschylus uses it for the tearing of clothes in mourning, in the Persians, the Suppliants and the Libation Bearers.^[5][7][6]
• 5th–4th century BC – Aristophanes uses it in mock-tragic style in the Acharnians.^[5][7][6]
• 1st century BC – Diodorus Siculus still uses the word.^[7][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tearing or rending, especially of clothes in mourning.^[5][4]
2. (chiefly in the plural) A rent, a tear; rags, tatters.^[5][2][4]

Word family

• λακίζω (lakízō)
• λακιστός (lakistós)
• λακιδόομαι (lakidóomai)

Related words

• Latin lacer
• Latin lacerō
• Latin lacinia

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux