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Origin and history of anabasis


anabasis(n.)

"a military advance," 1706, from Greek anabasis "military expedition," literally "a going up (from the coast)," especially in reference to the advance of Cyrus the Younger and his Greek mercenaries from near the Aegean coast into Asia, and the subsequent story of the retreat of the 10,000 narrated by Xenophon (401 B.C.E.). From anabainein "to go up, mount;" from ana "up" (see ana-) + bainein "to go, walk, step" (from PIE root *gwa- "to go, come"). Related: Anabatic.

also from 1706

Entries linking to anabasis


ana-

before vowels an-, word-forming element meaning: 1. "upward, up in place or time," 2. "back, backward, against," 3. "again, anew," from Greek ana (prep.) "up, on, upon; up to, toward; throughout; back, backwards; again, anew," from an extended form of PIE root *an- (1) "on, upon, above" (see on, which is the English cognate). In old medical prescriptions, ana by itself meant "an equal quantity of each."

*gwa-

*gwā-, also *gwem-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to go, come."

It might form all or part of: acrobat; adiabatic; advent; adventitious; adventure; amphisbaena; anabasis; avenue; base (n.) "bottom of anything;" basis; become; circumvent; come; contravene; convene; convenient; convent; conventicle; convention; coven; covenant; diabetes; ecbatic; event; eventual; hyperbaton; hypnobate; intervene; intervenient; intervention; invent; invention; inventory; juggernaut; katabatic; misadventure; parvenu; prevenient; prevent; provenance; provenience; revenant; revenue; souvenir; subvention; supervene; venire; venue; welcome.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit gamati "he goes," Avestan jamaiti "goes," Tocharian kakmu "come," Lithuanian gemu, gimti "to be born," Greek bainein "to go, walk, step," Latin venire "to come," Old English cuman "come, approach," German kommen, Gothic qiman.

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    Dictionary entries near anabasis

    • -an
    • ana-
    • -ana
    • Anabaptism
    • Anabaptist
    • anabasis
    • anabolic
    • anabolism
    • anachronism
    • anachronistic
    • anacoluthon
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