κεντέω

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- (to sting). Cognate with Old High German handag (pointed), Latvian sīts (hunting spear);[1] compare also English hent, hunt, and possibly hand, as well as Proto-Germanic *hinþaną (to reach for, obtain).

Pronunciation

 

Verb

κεντέω • (kentéō)

  1. to prick, sting, goad
  2. to stab, pierce, wound
  3. to torture, torment

Inflection

Homer uses κένσαι as the aorist infinitive, which is phonetically odd because -νσ- is normally forbidden in Greek.

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) “κεντέω”, in Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 672-3

Further reading