στέρνον

Forms

στέρνον (stérnon) n (genitive στέρνου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *stér(h₃)-no-m, from *sterh₃- (“to spread out”), the root of στόρνυμι (stórnumi, “to spread”).^[2][1] Beekes prefers this root for the sense, though the development of meaning is uncertain, and notes that the laryngeal would regularly be lost in this position.^[2] A root *ster- (“to lay down”) without a laryngeal is another possibility, and would explain the missing laryngeal more simply.^[2] Babiniotis traces it to a root meaning “spread out, broad”, with the suffix of τέκνον (téknon).^[3]

Cognate with Old High German stirna (“forehead”) (from Proto-West Germanic *stirniju).^[2][1]

Byzantine etymologists derived it from στερεός (stereós, “solid”), or from ἵστημι (hístēmi, “to stand”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Homer uses it for the chest, always of men (the general word for both sexes being στῆθος (stêthos)), and also of horses and sheep.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Homer already treats the chest as the place where the heart beats, and the Homeric Hymns and tragedy use the word for the heart as the seat of feeling.^[5][6] In tragedy it is also used of women, for the breast or bosom, and “blows of the breasts” are the beating of the chest in mourning.^[5][6] Alcman speaks figuratively of the “breast of Night”, of mountains in a dark northern land.^[6] Medical writers used it too.^[2]

Modern Greek στέρνο (stérno) is a learned word: in anatomy it names the breastbone, and it is also used of the chest generally.^[7]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for the chest of warriors and of horses.^[5][8]
• 7th century BC – Alcman speaks of the breast of Night.^[6][9]
• 6th century BC – The Homeric Hymn to Hermes has it.^[8]
• 5th century BC – Euripides uses it of a woman's breast, and Sophocles has the beating of breasts in mourning.^[5][6][9]
• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses it of men and animals in prose.^[5][6][9]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek στέρνο (stérno) is the anatomical name of the breastbone.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The breast or chest of a man, often in the plural; of animals.^[5][6]
2. The breast of a woman; plural, the bosom.^[6][5]
3. (figurative) The breast of Night, of dark northern mountains.^[6]
4. The breast as the seat of feeling, the heart.^[6][2]

Word family

• ἀμφίστερνος (amphísternos)
• βαθύστερνος (bathústernos)
• δασύστερνος (dasústernos)
• εὐρύστερνος (eurústernos)
• εὔστερνος (eústernos)
• προστερνίδιον (prosternídion)
• πρόστερνος (prósternos)
• στερνοκτύπος (sternoktúpos)
• στερνοτυπής (sternotupḗs)
• στερνοῦχος (sternoûkhos)
• χαλκεόστερνος (khalkeósternos)
• ἀποστερνίζω (aposternízō)
• καλλίστερνος (kallísternos)
• προσστερνίζομαι (prossternízomai)

Related words

• στόρνυμι (stórnumi)
• Modern Greek στέρνο (stérno)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
4. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
9. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge