οὐρ(ι)αχός

Grammatical information: f.

Meaning: `tail' (Il.), later often metaph. `rear(guard)' (X., Plb.).

Other forms: Ion. -ή

Compounds: Compp., e.g. οὑρ-ᾱγός m. `leader of the rearguard' with - έω, - ία (X., Plb.. LXX); on κόλ-ουρος (s. κόλος), κόθ-ουρος, πάγ-ουρος s. vv.

Derivatives: 1. Dimin. οὑράδιον (Gp.); 2. adj. οὑρ-αῖος `belonging to the tail' ( Ψ 520, Hp.) with - αία f. (like κεραία a.o.) `tail' (Aret.), - αῖον n. `id.' (E.). 3. οὑρ-αχός m. `foetal organ, point, outer end', e.g. of the heart, of the eyebrows, of a stalk (medic., Ael.), - ίαχος m. `lower end of a spear' (Il., A. R., AP ; metr. condit.?); cf. κύμβ-αχος, στόμ-αχος a.o. 4. οὑρώδης `belonging to the tail' (Hp. v.l.). - On οὖραξ s.v.

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [340] * h₁ers- `tail'; PGX [probably a word of Pre-Greek origin]

Etymology: Like κουρά beside κόρρη, κόρση, οὑρά can stand beside ὄρρος, - ορσος; basis then prob. *ὀρσά (on the phonetics s. on κουρά); note esp. OIr. err f. `tail' \< IE * ersā. Positing *ὀρσι̯ά (WP. 1, 138; also Forbes Glotta 36, 237 f. as alternative) or *ὀρσϜά (Brugmann-Thumb 148 a.o. referring to Skt. r̥ṣvá- `high') is unnecessary (cf. Schwyzer 286 Zus. 1 w. rich lit.). S. also ὄρρος. - Remarkable is the word οὐραχός with a suffix that it prob. Pre-Greek; here again there are the parallels with - αχ-, - ιχ-, - υχ- (Chantraine Form. 403). Even stranger is the form οὐρίαχος, which has even been considered a metrical licence (there is no other word in - ιαχος). This leads to he idea that the preceding vowel was palatal, i.e. -rs^y-; cf. Beekes FS Kortlandt; this might lead to the conclusion that the word (`tail') is Pre-Greek (unless one concludes that οὐρ(ι)αχός is not cognate with the tail-word). Cf. also on οὖραξ.

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