English
crasis
Crasis comes from Ancient Greek κρᾶσις ‘mixture’, from κεράννυμι ‘to mix’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-1‘to mix’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kírnāmi2‘to mix’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκεράννυμι3‘to mix’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρᾶσις4krâsis‘mixture’root of κεράννυμι
- Englishearliest quotation 1759crasis4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kírnāmi
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κεράννυμι
- 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κρᾶσις
- 4 Wiktionary, English crasis
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1759, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy: “This is all that ever stagger'd my faith in…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, Proto-Hellenic *kírnāmi‘to mix’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*kírnāmiWiktionary, Ancient Greek κεράννυμι‘to mix’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκεράννυμιWiktionary, Ancient Greek κρᾶσις‘to mix’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρᾶσιςWiktionary, English crasiskrâsis‘mixture’root of κεράννυμι
- Englishearliest quotation 1759crasisWiktionary, English crasis. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1759, Laurence Sterne, The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy: “This is all that ever stagger'd my faith in…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘to mix’
horn, cheer, hart, cerebral, corny, migraine, crater, cornea, carotid, cairn, cornet, cerebellum, keratin, procrastinate, cranium, cerebrum, rother, 50 more
through Ancient Greek κεράννυμι ‘to mix’
Today it means
noun One's constitution; the balance of humours in a person's body.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “crasis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Hellenic *kírnāmi, Ancient Greek κεράννυμι, Ancient Greek κρᾶσις. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- / crasis