σμύρις

Forms

σμύρῐς (smúris) f (genitive σμύρῐδος); third declension^[1] Also σμίρις (smíris) (gen. σμίρεως in Oribasius) and σμιρίς in Hesychius.^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.^[3][4] Beekes considers it Pre-Greek, following Furnée, who takes the frequent variation of υ and ι (σμίρις (smíris)) as the sign of a Pre-Greek word.^[3][5] The old comparison with μύρον (múron, “perfume”) and with a Germanic and Celtic word for fat, Old High German smero (“grease”) and Old Irish smiur (“marrow”), under Proto-Indo-European *smeru- (“grease, fat”), fits neither the form nor the very specific sense.^[3][4][6][7] Von Blumenthal connected it with σμάω (smáō, “to wipe”), which suits the sense better but not the form.^[4][6]

A borrowing from the East has also been proposed.^[4] Wiktionary takes it from a Semitic word, from which Egyptian jsmr (“emery”) also comes, and compares Biblical Hebrew שָׁמִיר (šāmīr, “emery”), Aramaic שָׁמִירָא (šāmīrā) and Arabic سَامُور (sāmūr, “corundum”).^[1][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dioscorides (5.147), in the 1st century AD, is the first to describe it: emery powder, used by gem-cutters to grind and polish stones.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

A derivative is older: an inscription from Imbros of the 2nd century BC has σμιριεῖα (smirieîa, “emery powder”), spelled ζμιρριεια, and the Septuagint (Job 41.7) has σμιρίτης (smirítēs) λίθος (líthos), “emery stone”.^[3][4][2] The medical writers Galen, Oribasius and Paul of Aegina use the word.^[9][2]

It was borrowed as Latin smyris.^[1] A Byzantine reshaping σμερίλιον (smerílion) passed into Italian smeriglio, and through French émeri it gave English emery in the late 15th century.^[1][10] The vernacular romance of Digenis Akritis uses it, probably of a precious stone.^[11] Modern Greek has the learned σμύριδα (smírida), from the accusative.^[12][11]

Timeline

• 2nd century BC – An inscription from Imbros has the derivative σμιριεῖα (smirieîa).^[3][4]
• 1st century AD – Dioscorides describes emery powder used by gem-cutters.^[2][3]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it.^[9]
• 4th century AD – Oribasius has the variant σμίρις (smíris).^[2]
• 7th century AD – Paul of Aegina lists it among stones.^[2]
• 1100–1669 – The vernacular Digenis Akritis uses it, probably of a precious stone.^[11]
• Late 15th century – English has emery, ultimately from this word.^[10]
• Modern Greek – The learned σμύριδα (smírida) names the abrasive mineral.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. Emery powder, used for grinding and polishing stones.^[2][3][4]

Related words

• Latin smyris
• English emery

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
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. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
8. ^ Βικιλεξικό, the Greek Wiktionary, https://el.wiktionary.org
9. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b c Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
12. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki