bucranium

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws

Proto-Hellenic *gʷous

Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs)

Proto-Indo-European *ḱer-

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

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Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-ō

Proto-Indo-European *ḱérh₂sō

Proto-Hellenic *kárahə

Ancient Greek *κρᾱν- (*krān-)

Proto-Indo-European *-yóm

Proto-Hellenic

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ον (-ĭ́on)

Ancient Greek κρᾱνίον (krāníon)

Ancient Greek βουκράνιον (boukránion)der.

Latin būcrāniumder.

English bucranium

From Latin būcrānium, from Ancient Greek βουκράνιον (boukránion).

Noun

bucranium (plural bucraniums or bucrania)

1. The depiction of the head of an ox, as ornamental flourishes in architectural works.
   • 1986, Nanno Marinatos, Minoan Sacrificial Ritual:

     On the second side of the gem, we see the victim, a running goat, and on the third side the symbol of sacrifice, the bucranium.

   • 2000, Béatrix Midant-Reynes, The Prehistory of Egypt:

     It was also in relation to the funerary world that bucrania were placed at the bottoms of the pits.

Translations

ox-head relief

• Catalan: bucrani
• French: bucrane (fr) m
• German: Bukranion n
• Greek: βουκράνιο (el) n (voukránio)

  Ancient Greek: βουκράνιον n (boukránion)

• Italian: bucranio (it) m
• Latin: būcrānium n
• Polish: bukranion (pl) m
• Portuguese: bucrânio m
• Russian: букра́ний m (bukránij)
• Spanish: bucráneo (es) m
• Ukrainian: букра́ній m (bukránij)

Further reading

• bucranium on Wikipedia.Wikipedia