cyma

Meaning

Noun

• A moulding of the cornice, wavelike in form, whose outline consists of a concave and a convex line; an ogee.
• A cyme.

Origin

• From New Latin cȳma ("young sprout or shoot of cabbage") (whence the botanic usage of cyme), from Ancient Greek κῦμα ("swell, wave”, “cyma”, “sprout of a plant"), from κύω.
• Most English coinages on this root are formed on its short stem, κῡμ-. The fact that the Ancient Greek etymon only inflects as a third-declension neuter noun has led some writers to prescribe forms that preserve the root’s long stem, κῡματ-, for philological reasons (see, for example, the 1903 and 1908 citations of cymatoscope), but such forms are rare.
• Latinate phrases that include cyma, namely cyma inversa, cyma recta, and cyma reversa, show that, when employed as a Latin word, cȳma is treated as a first-declension feminine noun rather than as third-declension neuter consonant-stem noun.
• There are several Classical precedents, both from Latin and from Ancient Greek, for formations on the short stem (κῡμ-) of this root, although formations on the long stem (κῡματ-) are more common in Ancient Greek; consequently, whereas formations on the long stem may be preferable, especially when combined with other Ancient Greek elements, formations on the short stem are by no means incorrect.