snerhen

Grammatical information: f.

Meaning: `numbness, deadness, electric ray' (IA.; on the fish s. Strömberg 57);

Other forms: second. νάρκᾰ Men.; Solmsen Wortforsch. 268

Compounds: As 2. member in θηριο-νάρκη f. name of a plant that paralyzes a snake (Plin.).

Derivatives: ναρκώδης `paralysed' (Hp.); ναρκάω, also with ἀπο-, δια-, ἐκ-, `be paralysed' (Θ 328) with ἀπονάρκη-σις (Plu.); ναρκόω `paralyse, become fixed' (Hp.) with νάρκω-σις, - τικός (medic.).

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

Etymology: As zero grade verbal noun with barytone accent (cf. πάθη, βλάβη a.o., Chantraine Form. 22 f.) νάρκη might belong to a primary German. verb, OHG sner(a)han, MHG snerhen `swing, knot, draw together'; beside it the deverbative OWNo. snara `turn, swing, wind' (PGgm. * snarhōn) and the verbal noun OHG snar(a)ha, OWNo. snara f. `swing' (Fick 1, 575). Here perh. also with Lidén Armen. Stud. 65 f. Arm. nergew `tenuis, gracilis, λεπτός', if pop. *'girded, drawn together', with ew-suffix from a nominal * nerg, IE * snerk- (WP. 2, 700f., Pok.976f.). The meaning `swing etc.' is supposed for ναρκίον ἀσκόν II. (prop. `turned, twined'); Fick 1, 503, Persson Beitr. 2, 817, Bechtel Lex. 211 f.). The supposed connection is semantically far from convincing; als we would expect *νδρακ-. Given the fish-name, we should rather assume a Pre-Greek word * nark-.

Page in Frisk: 2, 290