περκνός

Forms

περκνός (perknós) m (feminine περκνή, neuter περκνόν); first/second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- (“motley, coloured”), through an older adjective *περκός (*perkós) with the suffix -νός (-nós), an adjective that also underlies πέρκος (pérkos), περκάς (perkás) and the verbs περκάζω (perkázō, “to darken (of ripening grapes)”), περκαίνω (perkaínō) and περκόομαι (perkóomai).^[2][1] The gloss πρακνόν (praknón) continues the zero grade *pr̥ḱ-n-.^[2]

Cognate with Sanskrit पृश्नि (pṛ́śni-, “spotted, variegated”), Middle Irish erc (“speckled, dark red”), Welsh erch (“speckled”), Old High German forhana (“trout”) and Old High German faro (“coloured”).^[2][3][1] Beekes asks whether Latin pulcher (“beautiful”) belongs here too.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Iliad, where an eagle, the μόρφνος, is called a hunter “which they also call περκνός”.^[3][4][2] Aristarchus read it as a noun, πέρκνος.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Aristotle uses it as the name of a kind of eagle, which he identifies with the πλάγγος (plángos), and of dark-coloured snakes; the Hippocratic treatise On Head Wounds uses it for a livid colour.^[3][5] Later it described grapes and olives darkening as they ripen.^[3][4]

Medieval vernacular Greek kept περκνός, with a metathesized form πρεκνός, for a dark complexion.^[6]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it of a dark eagle.^[3][4]
• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic writers use it for livid colour.^[3][5]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it as the name of an eagle and of dark snakes.^[3][5]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theocritus uses it of darkening grape clusters, if the reading is right.^[4][7]
• Middle Ages – Vernacular Greek uses περκνός and πρεκνός for a dark complexion.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Dusky, dark-coloured, perhaps dark-spotted.^[3][4][2]
2. Of grapes and olives, darkening as they ripen.^[3][4]
3. (medicine) Livid.^[3]

Noun

1. A kind of eagle.^[3][2]

Related words

• πέρκος (pérkos)
• περκάζω (perkázō)
• πρακνόν (praknón)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 e f g h i j k l 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 Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
5. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
7. ^ Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge