Progression

crasis (KRAY-sis) noun

1. Composition; constitution; blending.

2. Contraction of two vowels into one long vowel or into a diphthong.

[From Greek krasis (mixture, blend), from kerannynai (to mix).]

"However, I do not wish to condemn the Greek-Latin crasis. After all I have used it to mould my surname (Latro=thief [Latin], Nike=victory [Greek]) into a more palatable form (victory over the thieves) than might be inferred from its slanderous (for me) Latin stem!"
Nicola Latronico; Making Sense; The Lancet (London, UK); Mar 30, 1996.

This week's theme: archaic words.

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Posted by Keya at June 30, 2005 09:13 PM