τέρετρον

Forms

τέρετρον (téretron) n (genitive τερέτρου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *téretron,^[1] inherited from Proto-Indo-European *térh₁trom,^[1] an instrument noun with the suffix -τρον (-tron) formed from the two-syllable root Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to bore”).^[2][3][4] The same full grade appears in Hesychius' τέρεσσεν (téressen, “pierced”) and in τερέσω (terésō) in Eustathius, and the zero grade in τρῆσαι (trêsai, “to bore”).^[2][4] Beekes and Chantraine relate it to τετραίνω (tetraínō, “to bore”) and τείρω (teírō, “to wear away”).^[2][3]

Cognate with Latin terebra (“borer”) and Old Irish tarathar (“auger”).^[2][3][1]

Ancient grammarians derived it from the verb for “to pierce”: Philoxenus (1st century BC) compares the pair with λέκτρον (léktron, “bed”) beside the verb for lying down.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the Odyssey (5.246, 23.198), where it is the tool used for boring holes in timber, an auger.^[6][7][8]

Semantic evolution

An Attic inscription lists it among tools, and the Septuagint uses it in Isaiah's description of the craftsman who makes an idol.^[6][2] Plutarch and an epigram of the Greek Anthology use it in the same sense.^[6] The physician Aretaeus uses it for a surgical trepan.^[6] Photius glosses it with τρυπάνιον (trupánion), the diminutive of the usual later word for a drill.^[9]

Timeline

• Homer – The Odyssey uses it for an auger for boring timber.^[6][7]
• 2nd century BC – The Septuagint Isaiah uses it in the making of an idol.^[6][10]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for a borer.^[6][11]
• 2nd century AD – Aretaeus uses it for a trepan.^[6][11]
• 9th century AD – Photius glosses it as τρυπάνιον.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A borer, auger, gimlet for timber.^[6][7]
2. (medicine) A trepan.^[6]

Related words

• τετραίνω (tetraínō)
• τείρω (teírō)
• τερηδών (terēdṓn)
• Latin terebra

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 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
4. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ Etygram: ancient etymologies of Greek words, CEPAM, Université Côte d'Azur, http://appsweb-cepam.unice.fr/etygram
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
9. ^ a b Photius, Lexicon, ed. Christos Theodoridis, vol. 1 (Α–Δ) (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1982); ed. Richard Porson (Cambridge, 1822)
10. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
11. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge