κρᾱνίον

κρᾱνίον

Grammatical information: n.

Meaning: `skull, brain-pan', also of the head in gen. (Θ 84 [Atticism?, Wackernagel Unt. 225, Chantraine Gramm. hom. 1, 18, Shipp Studies 21], Pi. I. 4, 54, Att.).

Compounds: As 1. member in κρανιό-λειος `bald-headed' (Com. Adesp. 1050); not seldom as 2. member, esp. in medic. expressions, e.g. ὀπισθο-κράνιον `occiput', ἐγ-κράνιον `cerebellum' (after ἐγ-κέφαλος), but also otherwise, e.g. βου-κράνιον `oxhead' (EM), also as plant-name (Ps.-Dsc., Gal., Strömberg Pflanzennamen 47). Adjectival hypostasis περι-κράνιος `running around the skull' (Plu., medic.).

Derivatives: Beside it, older and more usual, -κρᾱνον, e.g ἐπί-κρανον `capital, head-band' (Pi., E., inscr.), ποτί-κρανον `cushion' (Sophr., Theoc.), ὀλέ-κρανον `head of the elbow' (Hp., Ar., Arist.), κιο(νό)-κρανον (s. κίων). Adj., e. g. βού-, ἐλαφό-, δί-, τρί-, χαλκεό-, ὀρθό-κρανος. Rarely as 1. member: κρανο-κοπέω `cut off the head' (pap.); on κρανο-κολάπτης s. κράνον. -- Denomin. verbs: κρανίξαι ἐπὶ κεφαλην ἀπορρῖψαι, κρηνιῶν καρηβαρῶν H.; hypostasis ἀποκρανίξαι `tear from the head' (AP), `cut off the head' (Eust.). The secondary formation κρᾱνίον goes back on a nominal basis. We can better start directly from the oblique stem κρᾱν-.

Origin: IE [Indo-European] [574] *ḱerh₂- `head, horn'

Etymology: Further see on κάρα and κέρας.

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