Ancient Greek

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Etymology

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The basis is κνιδ-, κνισ- (knid-, knis-), which points to a root that seems to be found in Baltic and Germanic verbs, like Latvian knidêt (to itch, geminate, creep), Old Norse hníta (to push against), Middle Irish cned (wound), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kneyd-, from *ken- (to scratch; scrape; rub). A root-final -t- is found as well, like in Lithuanian knìsti (to scratch, itch, tickle); a root-final -s- occurs in Lithuanian knisù (to grub up).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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κνῐ́ζω (knízō)

  1. to scratch, gash
    Synonym: κνήθω (knḗthō)
  2. to pound, chop up or grate
  3. to tickle, titillate
    Synonym: γᾰργᾰλῐ́ζω (gargalízō)
  4. (of feelings) to chafe, tease, provoke

Inflection

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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