σιρός+πίθος

Grammatical information: m.

Meaning: `potter's earth, tiling, earthen vessel, jar, wine-jar, pottery' (Il.), Ε 387 (subterranean) dungeon, Cyprian acc. sch., but see Leumann Hom. Wörter 270 n. 17 and 273 (cf. Latte Glotta 34, 200ff. with arguments against, also σιρός πίθος, δεσμωτήριον H. (s. Bechtel Dial. 1, 450).

Dialectal forms: Myc. kerameu

Compounds: Compp., e. g. κεραμουργός `potter' (hell.).

Derivatives: A. material adjectives: κερά-μινος (Hdt.), - μικός (IA), - μεος (Pl.), - μεοῦς (Att.; after ἐρεοῦς from ἐρέα), - μοῦς (hell.), - μαῖος (Plb.), - μιος (Str.), -μήϊος (Nic.), - μῖτις (Hp., Plu.; Redard Les noms grecs en - της 107). - B. Subst. 1. κεραμεύς `potter' (Il.) with Κεραμεικός m. "potter's market", also as adj. = - μικός (X.), κεραμευτικός `belonging to the potter' (D. S.), κεραμεῖον `pottery' (Att.), κεραμεύω `make of potter's earth, be potter' (Att.) with κεραμεία `pottery' (Pl.). 2. κεράμιον `earthen jar, vase' (IA) with κεραμύλλιον `small pot' (Delos, pap., III<sup>a</sup>; Leumann Glotta 32, 215). 3. κεραμίς f. `roof-tile' (IA) with κεραμίδιον (late) and κεραμιδόω `cover with tiles' (Arist.). 4. κεραμ(ε)ών `pottery' (Ar. Lys. 200, Hdn. Gr. 1, 32; 40). - Denomin. verb κεραμόω `cover with tiles' (Att. inscr.) with κεραμωτός (Plb., Str.), κεράμωσις (Epid. IV^a).

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

Etymology: No certain etym. The connection with κερά-σαι, κεράννυμι (Prellwitz) is formally unproblematic, but semantically not quite convincing. Direct connection with Lat. cremāre as "terra coctilis" (Vaniček) is formally hard to found; we would like better a verb * kerH- `burn, heat, glow' (Pokorny 571f.), which has been assumed in several Baltic and Germanic nominal derivations, e. g. Lith. kárštas `hot, glowing, burning', Goth. haúri n. `coals', OHG herd `hearth'; one adduced also Skt. kūḍayati `singe, burn'; impossible is Lith. kùrti `fire, heat', as it is prop. `make fire', s. Fraenkel Lit. et. Wb. s. v. As however among the words in -( α)μο- there are several suspect of being loans (Chantraine Formation 133f., Schwyzer 493f.), is for this technical term for tile-making also Pre-Greek-Anatolian origin possible; not the Carian GN Κέραμος (Kretschmer Glotta 11, 284, Schrader-Nehring Reallex. 2, 694). On a proto-Hattic term s. Laroche BSL 51, p. XXXIV.

Page in Frisk: 1,823-824