ῥακωλέον ῥάκος

Grammatical information: n.

Meaning: `rag, schred, wrinkles, remnants' (Od.).

Other forms: often pl. ῥάκεα, -η.

Compounds: As 1. member in ῥακό-δυτος prop. `clothed in rags', `shabby' (E. in lyr.).

Derivatives: 1. Dimin. ῥάκιον, pl. - ια n. (Ar. a.o.); 2. ῥακώματα pl. = ῥάκη (Ar.; enlarged, Chantraine Form. 187); 3. ἀπορ\<ρ\> ακίσματα H. to ῥάκη (: *ἀπο-ρρακίζειν); 3. adj. ῥάκ-ινος (hell. inscr.), - όεις (AP), - ώδης (D. C., AP) `tattered, wrinkled'; 4. Uncertain (spoiled Debrunner IF 23, 14) ῥακωλέον ῥάκος H. (: ῥωγαλέος a.o.); 5. Denom. vb. ῥακ-όομαι `to become ragged, wrinkled' (Hp., Plu.) with - ωσις f. `wrinkling, wrinkledness' (Sor.).

Origin: XX [etym. unknown]

Etymology: For ῥάκεα, -η stands Aeol. βράκ-εα (Sapph. 57), -η (Theoc. 28, 11), but in the sense of `(long) ladies' garments'; to this βράκος κάλαμος, ἱμάτιον πολυτελές H. Other formation: βράκαλον ῥόπαλον, βράκετον δρέπανον, κλαδευτήριον H.; cf. (without dissim.) ῥάκετρον `chopping-knife' (Poll.; v. l. ῥάχ- [after ῥάχις]) with - ετρίζω `split, cut through' (Pl. Com.). The deviating meaning `ladies' garments' creates doubt whether βράκεα, - ος in this sense belong here (s. Belardi Doxa 3, 199 f. with another, very doubtful etymology). The other words can be connected without difficulty with ῥάκος from Ϝράκος, with βράκαλον after ῥόπαλον, σκύταλον; βράκετ(ρ)ον seems to be a primary nom. instr., which like ῥάκος presupposes a primary verb, approx. aor. 2. *ῥακεῖν. -- No connection outside Greek. Old is the comparison with Skt. vrścáti `hew, fell (trees), split', with yūpa-vrask-á- `post-cutter' and the ptc. vr̥k-ṇá- `hewn, felled', which may stand for *vr̥ṣk-ṇá- and so makes a possible basis *ŭr̥k-nó- (= Gr. *Ϝρακ-) unnecessary. The from this reconstructed IE *u̯resk-, *u̯rosk- has a variant in the Slav. word for `rumple' (cf. ῥάκος, also `rumple'), e.g. Russ.-CSl. vraska from *u̯orsk-ā. Toch. A wraske `disease' is phonetically unclear and lies semant. far off. For IE *u̯resk-, u̯ersk- one could reconstruct an older *u̯reḱ-sk-, *u̯erḱ-sk-, through which the connections with u̯r̥ḱ- in ῥάκος would be established. An IE *u̯r̥ḱ- can however be found in the Indo-Iran. word for `tree' (prop. *'a felled tree'), Skt. vr̥kṣá-, Av. varǝša- m., IE *u̯r̥ḱ-s-o- beside *u̯r̥ḱ-os- in ῥάκος (s. Lidén in WP. 1, 286); then we have to abandon vr̥k-ṇá- \< IE *u̯rk-nó-. -- Cf. WP. l.c., Pok. 1163 (m. Lit.). Older lit. in Bq. -- Cf. ῥίνη, ῥινός.

Page in Frisk: 2,640-641

ῥᾰκ-ωλέον· ῥάκος, Hsch.