English
hypate
Hypate comes from Latin hypatē, and goes back to Ancient Greek ὑπάτη.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὑπάτηliterally ‘highest/nearest string’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhypatē
- Englishtodayhypate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEὑπάτηliterally ‘highest/nearest string’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhypatē
- Englishtodayhypate
The story
Unadapted borrowing from Latin hypatē, from Ancient Greek ὑπάτη (hupátē, literally “highest/nearest [string]”). The hypate was the "highest" in the sense of being the string on a lyre nearest the player and physically above the remaining strings (compare a modern guitar, where the low E string is nearest the player), but actually the lowest in pitch.
Every English word from Ancient Greek ὑπάτη
Today it means
noun In ancient musical theory, the lowest-pitched fixed note in the nearer tetrachord on a lyre, always pitched a perfect fourth below the mese, with two movable notes between them, the parhypate (lower in pitch) and the lichanos (higher in pitch).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek ὑπάτη / hypate