ἵστημι + ῥόος
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
ἱστορία
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
historia
English translation (word)
inquiry
Transliteration (Etymon)
histēmi + rhoos
English translation (etymon)
to make the stream/flow stand
Century
4 BC
Source
Idem
Ref.
Cratylus 437b1-2
Ed.
J. Burnet, Platonis Opera, Oxford UP, 1903
Translation (En)
And ἱστορία (inquiry) means much the same, that it stops (ἵστησι) the flow (Transl. H. N. Fowler)
Other translation(s)
Modern Greek: Και η "ιστορία" περίπου αυτό σημαίνει, ότι σταματά τη ροή
Modern etymology
Ἱστορία is derived from ἵστωρ "witness, arbiter, the one who knows". The root is *weid- "to see" (εἶδον, οἶδα, Lat. video, Germ. ich weiss)
Persistence in Modern Greek
The word "ιστορία" is still used in MG with the meanings: a) 'knowledge of facts', b) 'development', c) everything which is maintained in people's memory, d) chronological period, e) a story, a book, f) narration (Triandafyllidis, Dictionary of MG)
Entry By
Maria Chriti
Comment
This fanciful etymology, based on form more than meaning, is not repeated in other authors or lexicographers