νεφροί

Frisk Etymological English

Grammatical information: m. pl.,
Meaning: kidneys (IA.),
Other forms: also du. νεφρώ (Ar. Ra. 475), rarely sg. νεφρός.
Compounds: As 2. member in περί-νεφρος fat around the kidneys (Arist.).
Derivatives: νεφρία n. pl. id. (pap. II--IIIp); νεφρ-ίτης σφόνδυλος first vertebra of the sacrum (Poll.; Redard 101), -ῖτις (νόσος) f. disease of the kinneys (Hp., Th.) with -ιτικός suffering of νεφρῖτις, healing the ν. (medic.); νεφρ-ώδης kidney-like (Arist.), -ιαῖος belonging to the kidneys (Dsc.; Chantraine Form. 49); hypostasis ἐπινεφρ-ίδιος on the kidneys (δημός, Φ 204).
Origin: IE [Indo-European] [not in Pok. (cf. 319)] *negʷʰro- kidney.
Etymology: With νεφροί belong in the first place the glosses given by Festus nefrōnēs (Praeneste), nebrundinēs (Lanuvium) kidneys. With the reconstructed IE -bh the Germ. word for kidney, OHG nioro, MEngl. nēre (also kid-nēre > kidney), OSwed. niūre etc., which requires an older *neu̯ran-, cannot be combined. Only if Germ. -u̯- can stand for a labiovelar (PGm. -ʒu̯-), it becomes possible, to connect the graecoital. forms under IE *negʷhro-. -- Both ἀδήν, inguen and Lat. rēnēs and OIr. āru kidney remain separated. -- Details in WP. 1, 133, Pok. 319, W.-Hofmann s. nefrōnēs.