Discussion of the verb κνύω/κνίζω and related forms (κνῦμα, κνῖσα, κναίω), meanings of rubbing/itching, nasal/skin dust, etymology, dialectal notes, and quotations (Nicander, Democritus, comic poets, Homer).
μεταφορᾶς τὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἀπρεπές. οἱ δὲ παρὰ τὴν κόνυζαν οἷον χαμαιζήλοιο κονύζης» (Nicand. Ther. 70) γίνεσθαι κνυζῶ ὡς κόρυζα κορυζῶ καὶ ῥίζα ῥιζῶ, ὅπερ ἀπίθανον. ἄμεινον οὖν Φιλοξένῳ συγκατατίθεσθαι εἰπόντι, ὅτι παρὰ τὸ κνύω γίνεται, ὃ δηλοῖ τὸ ξύω, Δωρικὸν μὲν ὄν, προφερόμενον δὲ παρὰ Ἀττικοῖς καὶ Ἴωσιν. Σώφρων ἐν Μίμοις (fr. 9 Ahrens) κνύζομαι δὲ οὐδὲν ἰσχύων. ἁ δὲ ξύσμα ἐκ ποδῶν εἰς κεφαλὰν ἱππάζεται. καὶ ξύσιλον ἀποφαίνεταί τινα ἐκ τοῦ συνεχοῦς ἐν γήρᾳ κνησμοῦ καὶ Δημόκριτος (fr. 49 Mullach) «ξυόμενοι ἄνθρωποι ἥδονται καί σφιν γίνεται ἅπερ τοῖς ἀφροδισιάζουσιν» καὶ παρὰ τῷ κωμικῷ ἐν Θεσμοφοριαζούσαις ( 481) «οὗτος πόθῳ μου ἔκνυεν ἐλθὼν τὴν θύραν» ἤγουν διὰ τὸν πόθον μου ἔξυε τὴν θύραν. καὶ ἀρέσκεται ὥσπερ ἑρπύω ἑρπύζω καὶ μύω μύζω, τρύω τρύζω οὕτως εἶναι καὶ κνύω κνύζω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ κνυζῶ ὁμοίως τῷ δίζω διζῶ. ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ῥηθέντος κνύω καὶ «κνῦμα δακτύλων» παρὰ τῷ κωμικῷ (Eccl. 36) καὶ κνύος δὲ ἡ φθορὰ κατὰ γένος οὐδέτερον ὁμοίως τῷ θύω θύος καὶ φλύω φλύος παρὰ Ἀρχιλόχῳ ἐπὶ φλυαρίας καὶ παρὰ Ἡσιόδῳ ἐν καταλόγῳ περὶ τῶν Προιτίδων (fr. V Dind.) καὶ γάρ σφιν κεφαλῇσι κατὰ κνύος αἰνὸν ἔχευεν. ἄλφος γὰρ χρόα πάντα κατάσχεθεν, ἐν δέ νυ χαῖται ἔρρεον ἐκ κεφαλέων, ψίλωτο δὲ καλὰ κάρηνα. τὸ δὲ κνύω γίνεται ἐκ τοῦ κνῶ «ἐπὶ δ´ αἴγειον κνῆ τυρόν» παρ´ Ὁμήρῳ (Λ 638), ἐξ οὗ καὶ ἡ κόνις καὶ παρὰ τὸ αὐτὸ κνῶ παράγεται τὸ κναίω τὸ διαφθείρω, οὗ χρῆσις καὶ παρὰ τῷ κωμικῷ Ἱππεῦσιν ( 771) ἐπὶ ταυτησὶ κατακνησθείην ἐν μυττωτῷ μετὰ τυροῦ. καὶ ὥσπερ στῶ στίζω, πρῶ πρίζω, οὕτω κνῶ κνίζω τὸ ἐξεπιπολῆς καὶ ἰσχνῶς καταξύω, οὗ ὁ μέλλων κνίσω, ἀφ´ οὗπερ γίνεται ἡ κνῖσα δι´ ἑνός τε γραφομένη 'σ' καὶ ἔκτασιν λαβοῦσα τοῦ 'ι'. δηλοῖ δὲ ἡ κνῖσα τὴν κατ´ ὀλίγον ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀπτωμένου ἀναφορὰν τῇ ὀσφρήσει προσίζουσαν. προσηγόρευται δὲ καὶ ἐπίπλους εὖ μάλα καὶ αὐτὸς εὐανάδοτος ὢν πρὸς ὄσφρησιν, οὐκ αὐτοτελὴς δὲ περιτεθειμένος τοῖς μηρίοις. Γίνεται
The unseemliness of the eyes is a matter of metaphor. But those who derive it from κόνυζα, as in “of the lowly κόνυζα” (Nicand. Ther. 70), make κνυζῶ come from κονύζα, as κορυζῶ from κόρυζα and ῥιζῶ from ῥίζα—which is implausible. It is better, then, to agree with Philoxenus when he says that it comes from κνύω, which means “to scrape”; it is Doric, but is used also among the Attic and Ionic writers. Sophron in the Mimes (fr. 9 Ahrens): “and I am κνύζομαι, being able to do nothing.” And “the scraping from the feet to the head is ridden.” And ξύσιλον is said to be something that results from continual itching in old age; and Democritus (fr. 49 Mullach): “people who are being scraped take pleasure, and it happens to them as it does to those who indulge in sex”; and in the comic poet in the Thesmophoriazusae (481): “this man, coming to the door, was κνύειν it because of my longing”—that is, because of my longing he was scraping the door. And it is acceptable that, just as ἑρπύω makes ἑρπύζω, and μύω makes μύζω, and τρύω makes τρύζω, so κνύω makes κνύζω, from which also κνυζῶ is formed, in the same way as δίζω makes διζῶ. And from the said κνύω comes also “κνῦμα of fingers” in the comic poet (Eccl. 36); and κνύος too is “decay,” neuter in gender, just as θύω makes θύος and φλύω makes φλύος—used by Archilochus of babbling, and by Hesiod in the Catalogue about the daughters of Proetus (fr. V Dind.): “for upon their heads he poured dreadful κνύος”; for leprosy had seized all their skin, and their hair was falling from their heads, and their fair heads were being made bald. And κνύω comes from κνῶ: “and upon it he scraped goat’s cheese” in Homer (Λ 638), from which also comes κόνις; and from the same κνῶ is derived κναίω, “to destroy,” which is used also by the comic poet in the Knights (771): “may I be utterly worn away on this very thing in a μυττωτός with cheese.” And just as στῶ makes στίζω and πρῶ makes πρίζω, so κνῶ makes κνίζω, “to scrape superficially and lightly,” whose future is κνίσω; from this comes κνῖσα, written with a single ‘s’ and with lengthening of the ‘i’. And κνῖσα denotes the gradual rising from what is being roasted, approaching the sense of smell. And it is also called ἐπίπλους, being very readily perceptible to smell, but not set upon the thighs as a complete portion. It arises…