ἅμμα

Forms

ᾰ̔́μμᾰ (hámma) n (genitive ᾰ̔́μμᾰτος); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἅπτω (háptō, “to fasten”) + -μα (-ma), a noun of result: “that which is tied”.^[1][2][3] Beekes lists it among the derivatives of the verb.^[4]

For ἅπτω (háptō) Beekes, following Kretschmer and van Beek, proposes Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“to join, fit”), the root of Hittite ḫapp- (“to join”) and Latin aptus (“fit”); on this view the rough breathing and the final ⟨φ⟩ of the verb's other stems are analogical.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the 5th century BC: Herodotus tells of sixty knots tied in a thong to count the days, Euripides uses it for a noose and for a cord, and the Hippocratic writers for a knot.^[2][5][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Its senses all come from tying: a knot, a noose or halter, a cord or band.^[2][5] Plato uses it figuratively of the point where the veins meet in the heart, Aristotle of the knot of the umbilical cord, and Xenophon of the knot of a horse's halter.^[3][5][2] In epigrams the “knot of maidenhood” is the maiden's girdle, loosened at marriage.^[2][5]

In wrestling it was a clinch or grip, and in the plural the arms that hold it.^[2][3] Later it named a link of a chain and a measure of length of forty cubits, and Philo uses it once, from the other sense of ἅπτω, for something that kindles.^[2] Papyri often write it with a smooth breathing, ἄμμα, and late Greek derived ἁμματίζω (hammatízō) and the diminutive ἁμμάτιον (hammátion).^[5][4]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – Herodotus, Euripides and the Hippocratic writers use it for a knot, a noose and a cord.^[2][3][5]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato uses it of the point where the veins join at the heart.^[3]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for the knot of the umbilical cord.^[5]
• 2nd–1st century BC – Meleager uses it for the girdle of maidenhood.^[2][5]
• 1st–2nd century AD – Plutarch uses it for a wrestler's clinch.^[2][3]
• 3rd century AD – A papyrus from Oxyrhynchus uses it as a measure of length.^[2]
• 4th century AD – Themistius uses it for the link of a chain.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Anything tied or used for tying; a knot.^[2][3][5]
2. A noose, halter or snare.^[2][3][5]
3. A cord or band; the girdle of maidenhood.^[2][5]
4. (figurative) A junction point, of the veins in the heart.^[3]
5. A link of a chain.^[2]
6. (wrestling) A clinch or grip; in the plural, the arms that hold it.^[2][3]
7. A measure of length of forty cubits (pêkhus).^[2]
8. Something that kindles.^[2]

Word family

• ἁμματίζω (hammatízō)
• ἁμμάτιον (hammátion)

Related words

• ἅπτω (háptō)
• ἁφή (haphḗ)
• ἅψις (hápsis)
• ἁψίς (hapsís)

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 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 j k Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. ^ a b c 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux