English
thranite
Thranite comes from Ancient Greek θρᾶνος ‘bench’, from θρόνος ‘throne’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to hold’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-1‘to hold’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρόνος2thrónos‘throne’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρᾶνος3thrânos‘bench’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρανίτης3thranítēs
- Englishtodaythranite3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek θρόνος, which cites Beekes
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek θρᾶνος
- 3 Wiktionary, English thranite
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰer-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek θρόνος, which cites Beekes‘to hold’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρόνοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek θρᾶνοςthrónos‘throne’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρᾶνοςWiktionary, English thranitethrânos‘bench’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEθρανίτηςWiktionary, English thranitethranítēs
- EnglishtodaythraniteWiktionary, English thranite
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- ‘to hold’
dark, drug, firm, dry, drama, dare, drone, drain, feasible, formidable, darn, drastic, refrain, dharma, dazed, dor, dern, 41 more
through Ancient Greek θρόνος ‘throne’
Today it means
noun One of the rowers on the topmost of the three benches in a trireme. They were usually the best rowers.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “thranite”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek θρόνος, Ancient Greek θρᾶνος. 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 *dʰer- / thranite