ἀξίνη

Forms

ἀξῑ́νη (axī́nē) f (genitive ἀξῑ́νης); first declension^[1]

Etymology

Rosół takes it as probably borrowed from Akkadian ḫaṣṣinnu (“axe”), the same word as Aramaic חצינא (ḥaṣīnā), and he compares a Sumerian word for the axe.^[2] Greek ⟨ἀξ-⟩ would come from the Semitic ⟨ḥaṣ-⟩ by metathesis.^[2][1] The Semitic origin is not commonly accepted.^[3]

Frisk sees an old weapon name related, in a way not clear in detail, to Latin ascia (“axe”) and to the Germanic words for the axe, such as Gothic 𐌰𐌵𐌹𐌶𐌹 (aqizi), probably a word that travelled between peoples.^[4] Chantraine also compares the Latin and Gothic words, finding the needed metathesis plausible in a technical term, but notes that the suffix ⟨-ίνη⟩ is unusual.^[5] Wiktionary mentions a reconstruction Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷs-ih₂-, with Old English æx among its cognates.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Iliad it is a battle-axe, used only in fighting.^[6][7] Its first passage speaks of a fine bronze axe set on an olive-wood handle, and LSJ takes it there as the axe-head.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

Herodotus also has it as a battle-axe, and Hesychius glosses it as a double-edged axe.^[8][5] From Xenophon on it is also the axe for hewing wood, as in the Gospels.^[8][7][5] Its diminutives ἀξινάριον (axinárion) and ἀξινίδιον (axinídion) are found in Josephus.^[5]

Medieval Greek remade it as αξίνα (axína), which survives as Modern Greek αξίνα (axína), a kind of pickaxe with one broad end.^[9][10]

Timeline

• Homer – The Iliad uses it for a battle-axe.^[6][8]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses it for a battle-axe.^[8][11]
• 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon uses it for an axe for hewing wood.^[8][11]
• 1st century AD – The Gospels of Matthew and Luke use it for an axe for hewing wood.^[8]
• Modern Greek – The medieval form survives as αξίνα (axína), a pickaxe.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. An axe, especially a battle-axe.^[8][7][6]
2. An axe-head.^[8][7]
3. An axe for hewing wood.^[8][7]

Word family

• ἀξινάριον (axinárion)
• ἀξινίδιον (axinídion)

Related words

• Latin ascia

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rosół, Rafał (2013), Frühe semitische Lehnwörter im Griechischen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
3. ^ Rosół, Rafał, ed., Lexicon of Oriental Words in Ancient Greek, https://orientalwordsingreek.org
4. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ a b c Cunliffe, Richard John (1924), A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect, London: Blackie and Son
7. ^ a b c d e f Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
10. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
11. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge