χνόη

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

  • χνοίη (khnoíē)Ionic

Etymology

The entry by Beekes in his Etymological Dictionary of Greek reads (in paraphrase):

"Related to χνόος (khnóos, incrustation from salt-water; wool, down). Both words have been connected to χναύω (khnaúō, to nibble) and χνίω (khníō, to break in small pieces). Reasonable connections can then be found in Old Norse gnúa (to rub) and Proto-Slavic *gnusъ. Maybe from Proto-Indo-European *knew- (to scrape; scratch; rub) and related to κνίζω (knízō, to pound, grate) and κνύω (knúō, to scratch)."

Pronunciation

 

Noun

χνόη • (khnóēf (genitive χνόης); first declension

  1. nave, hub, the cylindrical central part of a wheel
    Synonym: πλήμνη (plḗmnē)

Inflection

Further reading