ἀνατομή

Forms

ἀνατομή (anatomḗ) f (genitive ἀνατομῆς); first declension^[1] Tarentine plural ἀντομαί (antomaí), in Hesychius.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἀνατέμνω (anatémnō, “to cut up”) + -η (-ē), a verbal noun.^[1][3][4] The verb is ἀνά (aná, “up”) with τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”),^[5][4] which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- (“to cut”).^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Aristotle cites a work of his own called Anatomai, “Dissections”, in the History of Animals;^[7][2] the DGE takes it to have been probably a set of anatomical drawings that went with that work.^[2] He also uses the word for logical analysis, beside “divisions”.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

From dissection the word passed to the description of the body's structure: Theophrastus speaks of the parts known from dissections, and Longinus and Galen of the anatomy of the human body.^[2][7] It also kept the general sense of cutting open: the opening of a road in Philo, a hole in a device of Hero, the re-striking of coins in an inscription from Delos.^[2] Ignatius of Antioch uses the plural of the mutilations of martyrs.^[4][2]

English anatomy comes through Old French and Late Latin anatomia from a late Greek form of the word.^[5] In Modern Greek ανατομή (anatomí) is a learned word for the scientific study of the body's structure by dissection.^[8]

Timeline

• 4th century BC – Aristotle cites his “Dissections” and uses the word for logical analysis.^[7][2]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus mentions the parts of plants known from dissection.^[2][7]
• 2nd century BC – An inscription from Delos uses it for the re-striking of coins.^[2]
• 1st century BC to 1st century AD – Philo uses it for the opening of a road.^[2]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Ignatius of Antioch uses the plural for the mutilation of martyrs.^[4][2]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it for the anatomical description of the body.^[2]
• Late 14th century – English takes anatomy from Old French and Late Latin.^[5]
• Modern Greek – The learned ανατομή (anatomí) names the science of the body's structure.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Dissection; anatomical description; in the plural, a series of anatomical drawings.^[7][2]
2. Logical analysis.^[7][2]
3. A cutting open, opening; an opening, hole.^[2]
4. The re-striking of coins.^[2]
5. (Koine) Mutilation, torture.^[4][2]
6. (Tarentine, plural) Cut ears of grain, stubble.^[2]

Related words

• ἀνατέμνω (anatémnō)
• τέμνω (témnō)
• τομή (tomḗ)
• Latin anatomia
• English anatomy

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
3. ^ Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
4. ^ a b c d e Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e f g Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki