ἔμπλαστρον

Forms

ἔμπλαστρον (émplastron) n (genitive ἔμπλάστρου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek ἐμπλάσσω (emplássō, “to plaster on”) + -τρον (-tron).^[2][3][4] It stands beside the feminine ἔμπλαστρος (émplastros) and the older ἔμπλαστον (émplaston), the neuter of the verbal adjective ἐμπλαστός (emplastós, “daubed on”), which the Hippocratic writers already use for a salve.^[5][4][6] Galen regarded the form in ⟨-τρ-⟩ as the later one.^[5][6]

The verb is a compound of ἐν (en, “in, on”) and πλάσσω (plássō, “to mould, shape”).^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The dictionaries first cite the neuter from a papyrus of the 1st or 2nd century AD, which speaks of a plaster made of kneaded salves.^[8] The GLAUx corpus has forms of the word in two Hippocratic treatises of the 5th–4th century BC, where LSJ cites only the older ἔμπλαστον.^[9][5]

Semantic evolution

The word belonged to medicine throughout: a salve or medicated plaster spread on the skin.^[5][2][10] Latin had borrowed it early as emplastrum, already in Cato, beside a form emplastro.^[8][11] Through the shortened medical Latin plastrum it gave the English word, which first meant a medicinal application and later also the coating for walls.^[6]

Galen and the later physicians use it often, and a jest in Hierocles' collection mentions a depilatory plaster.^[9][8] It was borrowed as Coptic ⲉⲙⲡⲗⲁⲥⲧⲣⲟⲛ (emplastron), with many spellings in Sahidic manuscripts from about AD 600 on.^[12] Medieval vernacular medical books kept it,^[13] and Modern Greek has έμπλαστρο (émplastro), which Triantafyllidis derives from the accusative of the Hellenistic feminine.^[14][10]

Timeline

• 1st–2nd century AD – A papyrus uses it of a plaster made of kneaded salves.^[8]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it often in his works on remedies.^[9][5]
• 4th century AD – Hierocles' collection of jokes mentions a depilatory plaster.^[8]
• 5th century AD – A papyrus has the neuter form.^[5]
• About AD 600 – The earliest dated Coptic manuscript with the borrowing Coptic ⲉⲙⲡⲗⲁⲥⲧⲣⲟⲛ (emplastron) is written.^[12]
• 1100–1669 – Vernacular medical texts prescribe a plaster on the liver with έμπλαστρον (émplastron).^[13]
• Modern Greek – The word survives as έμπλαστρο (émplastro), a medicated plaster.^[14][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (medicine) A plaster or salve spread on the skin.^[5][2][8]

Related words

• ἐμπλάσσω (emplássō)
• πλάσσω (plássō)
• Latin emplastrum
• English plaster

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
8. ^ a b c d e f Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
9. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
10. ^ a b c Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
11. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
12. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
13. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
14. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki