ὑπόστερνον ὑπογάστριον

Grammatical information: n.

Meaning: `breast, chest', in Hom. always of the manly breast, also as seat of the feelings etc., "heart" (poet. Il., also medic.).

Other forms: often pl. -α.

Compounds: Compp., e.g. εὑρύ-στερνος `with a wide chest' (Hes. a.o.), στερνο-τυπής `beating the chest' (E. in lyr.), πρό-στερνος `in front of the chest' (A.), to which προστερν-ίδιον n. `chest-harness of horses' (X. u.a.), also στερνίδιον `id.' (late).

Derivatives: Verbal derivations from hypostases or univerbations, e.g. ὑποστερν-ίζομαι `fix under the chest (Plu.; ὑπόστερνον ὑπογάστριον H.). Further derivv. rare: στερνίτιδες πλευραί (Poll.; Redard 105), στερνιξ ἐντεριώνη H. (as μόλιξ, ῥηνιξ a.o.); unclear στερνιον des. of a difficult digestible meat, cf. LSJ s.v.

Origin: IE [Indo-European]X [probably] [1029] * sterH- `spread out'

Etymology: As des. of the breast a Greek innovation, but the word has several cognates outside Greek: Germ., e.g. OHG stirna f. `forehead', IE *stern-i̯ā, Slav. e.g. Russ. storoná, `region, side' IE *stor-nā, Welsh sarn `stratum, pavimentum = Skt. ptc. stīrṇá `stratus, spread out; ΙΕ *str̥̄no- = *str̥Hno-, zero grade of str̥ṇā́ti `strew out, spread out; s. στόρνυμι; but the laryngeal is not found in στέρνον. So prop. meaning of στέρνον (formation like τέκνον, φερνή) `what is spread out, extension, plain' (opposed to the neck, ἱσθμός; τὰ ἴσθμια `pit, throat'). Cf. on στῆθος. -- As the laryngeal cannot be accomodated, a bit uncertain.

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