Κριθώτη

Grammatical information: f.

Meaning: `barley-corns', usu. pl. `barley' (Il.); also metaph. = `pustule on the eyelid' (medic.; Strömberg Theophrastea 192, Wortstudien 63). On the meaning of κριθή, πυρός, σῖτος Moritz Class. Quart. 49 (N. S. 5) 129ff.

Other forms: Short form κρῖ n., s. below.

Compounds: Compp., e.g. κριθό-πυρον n. `mix of barley and wheat' (pap.; cf. on διόσπυρον), εὔκριθος `rich in barley' (Theoc., AP). --

Derivatives: Diminut.: κριθίον (Luc., Longos), κριθίδιον, also `decoction of barley' (Hp., Posidon.), κριθάριον (pap.). Further substantives: κριθαία `barley-soup' (Hom. Epigr. 15,7; after ἁλμαία a.o., Chantraine Formation 86); κριθανίας m. name of a kind of wheat (Theophr. HP 8, 2, 3 beside σιτανίας; after νεανίας? Strömberg Theophrastea 91; s. also Chantraine 94). Adjectives: κρίθινος `of barley' (Ion., hell.), κριθάμινος `id.' (Polyaen.; after σησάμινος), κριθικός `consisting of barley' (pap.), κριθώδης `like barley, full of barley-corns' (Hp.). Denomin. verbs: κριθάω `feed oneself with barley' (A., S.), also κριθιάω (Arist.; after the verbs of disease in - ιάω, Schwyzer 732) with κριθίασις `surfeit caused by over-feeding with barley' (X.); κριθίζω `feed with barley' (Aesop., Babr.). - GN Κριθώτη (- ωτή) name of a land-tongue in Acarnania (Krahe IF 48, 223ff.). Surname Κρίθων (H.) from κριθή = πόσθη (Ar. Pax 965); Schulze KZ 29, 263 = Kl. Schr. 308.

Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]X [probably]

Etymology: The enlarged form κριθ-ή points to an original root noun *κρῑθ, from where ep. κρῖ n. (Il.), only nom. a. acc. (cf. Egli Heteroklisie 12). - The attempts to connect κρῖ with the western words for `barley', Lat. hordeum, OHG gersta, which are in themeselves not quite clear, have not given a convincing result. The for hordeum and Gerste supposed basic forms, IE. *ghr̥zd(h)-, resp. * gherzd-, would have given Gr. *χραζ- or *χρασθ- \> *κρασθ-, resp. *χερδ- (*χερθ- \> *κερθ-). κρι agrees better with Alb. drith, -ë `barley, wheat', of which - ri- may come from IE. -r̥-. Also Arm. gari, gen. garwoy `wheat' (formally = IE. *ghr̥i̯o-) reminds of κρῖ; a similar word appears in Georgian, Grusin. qeri `barley', cf. Deeters IF 56, 140 f. Whether κρῖ goes back directly on an IE. basis, remains somewhat uncertain; perhaps we have to do with a Wanderwort. Also Egyptian origin has been considered (Schwyzer 61, Debrunner Eberts Reallex. 4, 525). -Attempts, to analyse κρι in Walde KZ 34, 528, Schwyzer 352; overtaken combinations in Wood Mod. Phil. 1, 240 (to OE grotan, Engl. groats), Persson Stud. 103. Details in Pok. 446, W.-Hofmann s. hordeum; cf Schrader-Nehring Reallex. 1, 389, Porzig Gliederung 209. - So we stop at a (Pre-Greek?) form *krīt.

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