English
tragus
Tragus comes from Late Latin tragus ‘the goatlike smell of the armpits’, from Ancient Greek τράγος ‘he-goat’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’root as named
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτράγω‘to gnaw, nibble’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτράγοςtrágos‘he-goat’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtragus‘the goatlike smell of the armpits’
- Englishtodaysame form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’root as named
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτράγω‘to gnaw, nibble’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEτράγοςtrágos‘he-goat’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtragus‘the goatlike smell of the armpits’
- Englishtodaysame form
The story
Borrowed from Late Latin tragus, from Ancient Greek τράγος (trágos, “he-goat; part of the ear”); with reference to a tuft of hair, likened to a goat’s beard, that may grow on the tragus, especially in older men.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’
turn, throw, tournament, thread, threshold, trout, detrimental, tyrone, detour, tourney, detriment, attrition, thrash, termite, tribulation, tourniquet, trite, triage, thresher, detritus, tyro, thresh, truant, derma, 40 more
through Ancient Greek τράγος ‘he-goat’
Today it means
noun The small piece of thick cartilage on the inner side of the external ear that is immediately in front of and partly closing the ear canal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / tragus