English
Skytalism
Skytalism comes from Ancient Greek σκυταλισμός ‘clubbing’, and goes back to σκυτάλη ‘a staff, a cudgel, a club’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκυτάλη‘a staff, a cudgel, a club’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσκυταλισμόςskutalismós‘clubbing’
- Englishearliest quotation 1852Skytalism
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσκυτάλη‘a staff, a cudgel, a club’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEσκυταλισμόςskutalismós‘clubbing’
- Englishearliest quotation 1852Skytalism
Earliest quotation: 1852, George Grote, History of Greece: “But the city where intestine commotion took place in…”
Formed from skytale + -ism
Ancient Greek σκυτάλη ‘club, baton, cylinder used for encoding and…’
English skytale
Every English word from Ancient Greek σκυτάλη
Today it means
name —
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek σκυτάλη / Skytalism