scio-comb. form
Stress is usually determined by a subsequent element and vowels may be reduced accordingly.
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Partly a borrowing from Greek. Etymons: Latin scio-; Greek σκιο-.
Etymology: < (i) classical Latin scio- (also scia- ), and its etymon (ii) Hellenistic Greek σκιο-, combining form (in e.g. σκιοθηρικός sciatheric n.) of ancient Greek σκιά shadow ( < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit chāyā shadow, Middle Persian sāyag shade, shadow, Latvian seja face, (archaic) shadow, (with a suffix) Old Church Slavonic sěnĭ shadow); compare -o- connective.A number of Greek words show an earlier form in σκια- and a later form in σκιο- , e.g. Hellenistic Greek σκιαγράϕος (see skiagrapher n.), σκιαμαχία skiamachy n. Found earliest in English in the 16th cent. in the Latin loanword sciomancy n. Compare also variants in scio- or skio- shown by skiagraphy n., sciatherical adj., skiamachy n., and related words. The earliest formations within English are scioptric adj. (in the late 17th cent.) and scioptic n. (in the early 18th).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2014; most recently modified version published online September 2021).