acnestis

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*kneh₂-
2. Koine Greek · derived fromἄκνηστις“spine”
3. Late Latin · borrowed fromacnestis
4. English todayacnestis

From Late Latin acnestis, from Koine Greek ἄκνηστις (áknēstis, “spine”), from κνῆστις (knêstis, “spine, cheese-grater”), or from ἀ- (a-) + -κναίειν (-knaíein, “grate, scrape, scratch”) (only attested in compounds), or from incorrect segmentation of κατὰ κνῆστιν (katà knêstin, “on the spine”) (see Homer, Odyssey 10.161), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kneh₂-.

Words from the same roots