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ἄκανθα

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: άκανθα

Ancient Greek

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Etymology

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Traditionally derived from ἀκή (akḗ, thorn) +‎ ἄνθος (ánthos, flower), though Beekes considers this theory outdated and prefers to take the word as Pre-Greek. Probably not related to Sanskrit कण्टक (káṇṭaka, thorn, thornbush; prick, needle).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ᾰ̓́κᾰνθᾰ (ắkănthăf (genitive ᾰ̓κᾰ́νθης); first declension

  1. thorny plant
    1. (Egypt) specifically Vachellia nilotica (phono-semantic matching of Coptic ϣⲟⲛϯ (šonti))
  2. thorn, spine, prickle
  3. (figuratively) thorny issue; something difficult or painful

Inflection

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Greek: άκανθα (ákantha)
  • Arabic: أَقَنْثَا (ʔaqanṯā)
  • New Latin: acantha

References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “ἄκανθα”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 48-9

Further reading

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