Kinodontes
Kinodontes grece canini dentes.
Apparatus:
Kynodontes f | Kinodõtes B | Kinodentes AC e
Translation:
Kinodontes is Greek for Latin canini dentes {"canine teeth"}.
Commentary:
Cf. sg. nom. κυνόδους /kynódous/, pl. κυνόδοντες /kynódontes/ means "dog's tooth {pl. teeth}, but also canine teeth of lions, men, horses; also a serpent's fang".
It is a compound of κυν- /kyn-/, a compound form of "dog", + ὀδούς, gen. ὀδόντος /odόntos/ "tooth", literally "dog's tooth".
Simon's transcription reflects a late Greek pronunciation, where υ {i.e. /y/ pronounced like French 'u' or German 'ü'} was changed into ι {/i/}, resulting in /kinódontes/.
The phonetic similarity between Greek ὀδόντες /odόntes/ and Latin dentes "teeth" enticed some scribes to analyse the Greek word as consisting of κυνο- /kyno-/, a common compound form of "dog", + Latin dentes "teeth".
Wilf Gunther 05/03/14
