χνόος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

• χνοῦς (khnoûs) — Attic

Etymology

Related to χνόη (khnóē, “axle-box”). 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, which point to Proto-Indo-European *gnew-. Otherwise perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *knew- (“to scrape, scratch; to rub”) and related to κνίζω (knízō, “to pound, grate”) and κνύω (knúō, “to scratch”), with expressive aspiration; or from *ksnew-. Compare also μνόος (mnóos, “fine, soft down”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /kʰnó.os/ → /ˈxno.os/ → /ˈxno.os/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /kʰnó.os/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈkʰno.os/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈxno.os/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈxno.os/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈxno.os/

Noun

χνόος • (khnóos) m (genitive χνόου); second declension

1. incrustation from salt water
2. powder, dust of the earth
3. wool pulled for stuffing cushions, flock
4. first down on the chin or cheeks
5. bloom on fruits

Inflection

Second declension of ὁ χνόος; τοῦ χνόου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ὁ χνόος ho khnóos	τὼ χνόω tṑ khnóō	οἱ χνόοι hoi khnóoi
Genitive	τοῦ χνόου toû khnóou	τοῖν χνόοιν toîn khnóoin	τῶν χνόων tôn khnóōn
Dative	τῷ χνόῳ tôi khnóōi	τοῖν χνόοιν toîn khnóoin	τοῖς χνόοις toîs khnóois
Accusative	τὸν χνόον tòn khnóon	τὼ χνόω tṑ khnóō	τοὺς χνόους toùs khnóous
Vocative	χνόε khnóe	χνόω khnóō	χνόοι khnóoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Derived terms

• κᾰλᾰμόχνοος (kalamókhnoos)
• χνοᾰ́ζω (khnoázō)
• χνοᾰ́ω (khnoáō)
• χνόϊος (khnóïos)
• χνοώδης (khnoṓdēs)

 

Descendants

• Greek: χνούδι (chnoúdi)

Further reading

• “χνόος”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “χνόος”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “χνόος”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• χνόος in Bailly, Anatole (1935) Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français, Paris: Hachette
• χνόος in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010) Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN