Where does “anisotropy” come from?
I need to work through this etymology chain carefully. The chain given is: - English -tropy - Ancient Greek ἄνισος - Ancient Greek ἀ- - Ancient Greek τρόπος - Ancient Greek τροπή - Proto-Indo-European ne - Proto-Indo-European sem- - Proto-Indo-European -eh₂ However, this chain seems problematic. "Anisotropy" is formed from Ancient Greek ἄνισος (anisos, "unequal") + τροπή/τρόπος (trope/turn). The chain provided mixes these elements confusingly and includes PIE roots that don't clearly lead to the components. Let me reconstruct what makes sense: "anisotropy" = "aniso-" (unequal) + "-tropy" (turning/direction).
anisotropy (English): The property of being directionally dependent;...
Definitions
- The property of being directionally dependent;...
Ancestry of “anisotropy”, step by step
anisotropy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English isotropy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | isotropy | The property of being identical, or having the... |
| 2 | English | ISO | The International Organization for Standardization |
| 3 | Greek | ίσος | equal; having equal rights |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ἴσος | equal (to); equivalent (to); consistent (to); agreement (to) |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | δάκτυλος | finger; measure of length, the breadth of a... |
| 6 | Hebrew | דקל | palm tree; date; dachshund |
| 7 | German | Dackel | dachshund; a similar-looking dog, e.g. a basset... |
| 8 | German | Dachshund | dachshund; a similar-looking dog, e.g. a basset... |
| 9 | German | Dachs | badger; genitive singular of Dach |
| 10 | Old High German | dahs | — |
| 11 | Proto-West Germanic | þahs | badger |
| 12 | Proto-Germanic | þahsuz | badger |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | tótḱus | — |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | tetḱ- | to create, produce; to cut, hew |
| 15 | Proto-Indo-European | teḱ- | to sire, beget |
via English an-#Prefix_2
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | an-#Prefix_2 | — |