ὄρχις Ancient Greek · revision 2274

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=6th century BC, Hipponax|origins=ine-pro *h₃(o)rǵʰ-i-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /ór.kʰis/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈor.çis/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈor.çis/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ὄρχις''' (órkhis) ''m'' or f (genitive ὄρχεως or ὄρχῐος); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Genitive ὄρχεως, Ionic ὄρχιος; plural Attic ὄρχεις, Ionic ὄρχιες.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an old inherited word, [[inh|ine-pro|*h₃(o)rǵʰ-i-|t=testicle]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) Apart from suffixes it agrees with [[xcl|որձիք|tr=orjikʻ|t=testicles]], [[sq|herdhë]] and [[mga|uirgge]]; [[ae|ərəzi]] (dual) points to a zero grade, and [[hit|arki-]] “testicle” stands beside a Hittite verb ark- “to mount, copulate”.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)^(Wiktionary) A derivative in -l- is [[lt|eržilas|t=stallion]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)

+

+ Beekes reconstructs an initial *h₃-, which the o-vowel of most languages also suggests.^(Beekes 2010) Wiktionary has [[m|ine-pro|*h₁órǵʰis]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Homer has the compound [[ἔνορχος|tr=énorkhos]] “uncastrated”.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940) The simple word first appears in Hipponax, mostly in the plural.^(CGL 2021)^(DGE)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Herodotus, Hippocrates, Xenophon and Demosthenes use it for the testicles, and Galen extends it to the ovaries.^(LSJ 1940)^(CGL 2021) Theophrastus and Dioscorides name a plant after the shape of its root, the orchid, and Columella a kind of olive after the shape of its fruit.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940) Aristophanes has the compound [[ὀρχίπεδα|tr=orkhípeda]] “scrotum, testicles”.^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ The plant name was borrowed as [[la|orchis]], and in 1845 John Lindley introduced [[en|orchid]] from the Modern Latin family name Orchideae.^(Etymonline) [[el|όρχις|tr=órchis]] is a learned anatomical word.^(Triantafyllidis 1998)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Homer – the compound ἔνορχος “uncastrated”.^(Beekes 2010)^(LSJ 1940)

+ * 6th century BC – Hipponax uses the word.^(CGL 2021)^(DGE)

+ * 5th century BC – Herodotus and Hippocrates use it.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+ * 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus uses it for the orchid.^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)^(DGE)

+ * 2nd century AD – Galen uses it for the ovaries.^(LSJ 1940)^(DGE)

+ * 1845 – English ''orchid''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(usually plural)'' [[m|en|testicle|alt=Testicle]].^(CGL 2021)^(LSJ 1940)

+ # ''(in females)'' The [[m|en|ovary]].^(LSJ 1940)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(feminine)'' A plant, the [[m|en|orchid]] (salep).^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)

+ # ''(feminine)'' A kind of [[m|en|olive]].^(LSJ 1940)^(Beekes 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ὀρχιπεδίζω|tr=orkhipedízō]]

+ * [[ὀρχίδιον|tr=orkhídion]]

+ * [[ἔνορχος|tr=énorkhos]]

+ * [[ὀρχίπεδα|tr=orkhípeda]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|orchis]]

+ * [[en|orchid]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}