- ὄστρακον
- ὄστρακονGrammatical information: n.Meaning: `bony, hard shell of snails, mussels, turtles etc.' (h. Merc., A., Hp., Arist.), `earthen potsherd (for writing, e.g. at a voting), earthen vessel' (Hp., Att.).Compounds: Few compp., e.g. ὀστρακό-δερμος `having a bony shell for skin, with a hard skin' (Batr., Arist.), μαλακ-όστρακος `with a soft shell' (Arist.).Derivatives: A. Subst. 1. Dimin. ὀτράκ-ιον n. (Arist., Str.); 2. -ίς, -ίδος f. `pine-cone' (Mnesith. ap. Ath.); 3. -εύς m. `potter' (APl.; Bosshardt 68). 4. -ᾶς m. `id.' (inscr. Corycos, Hdn. Gr.); 5. -ίτης m. name of a stone (Dsc., Plin.), of a kitchen (Ath.), f. -ῖτις `calamine' (Dsc., Plin.), Redard 59 a. 90; 6. -ίας m. name of a stone (Plin.). -- B. Adj. 7. -ινος, 8. -ε(ι)ος, 9. -όεις (AP), -οῦς (Gal.) `earthen'; 10. -ώδης `shell- or sherd-like, full of sherds' (Arist., LXX, pap.). 11. -ηρά n. pl. `crustaceans' (Arist.). -- C. Adv. 12. -ίνδα `played with potsherds' (Ar.; Taillardat Rev. et. anc. 58, 189ff.). -- D. Verbs. 13. -ίζω 'to write sbds. name on a potsherd and by that vote for his exile, to exile' (At., Arist.) with -ισμός m. `ostracism' (Arist.); 14. -όομαι `to crack in pieces' (A.), `to become covered with a shell' (Lyc., Gal.), -όω `to turn into a shell, to harden' (Arist.), `to cover with sherds' (Att. inscr. IVa).Origin: PG [a word of Pre-Greek origin]Etymology: Formation in -ακο- (Schwyzer 497, Chantraine Form. 384), like ὄστρεον (s.v.) first from an r-stem ὀστ-ρ-, which has been assumed to interchange with the i : n-stem in Skt. ásth-i, asth-n-ás (s. ὀστέον); cf. on ἀστακός, ἀστράγαλος, which are however unrelated; Schwyzer 518 w. lit., WP. 1, 185f., Pok. 783 W.-Hofmann s. os; older lit. in Bq. However, there is no alternation between r\/n and i in IE, nor a suffix -n̥ko- (as DELG) to give -ακο-. So the word is Pre-Greek (not in Furnée).Page in Frisk: 2,437-438
Greek-English etymological dictionary (Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά ετυμολογική λεξικό). Robert S.P.. 2010.