to flatten vs. to crush

[ThomasK]

i wonder whether you consider them (semantically) related but in Dutch at least we can pletten pills or crackers (probably crushing) and then we can verpletteren (crush) the enemy, which implies that the enemy is powerless. The original, literal meaning seems to be less common, but not impossible: a car was verpletterd (crushed) under a truck or under a boulder.

The one is very peaceful, the other is aggressive... But in Dutch both refer to "plat", i.e. "flat" but the ver-prefix often suggests negative things, wrong results (e.g., look/watch = kijken; zich verkijken op = to look wrongly and miss something).

Afvlakken however refers to a hilly/... surface being flattened: render it flat, level. Refers to "vlak", level.

 

[apmoy70]

Greek has:

Crush (verb):
(A) «Συνθλίβω» [s̠inˈθli.vo̞] < Ancient Greek verb «συνθλίβω» /synˈtʰli.bɔː/ --> to press together, compress a compound: Prefix & preposition «σύν» /syn/ + verb «θλίβω» /ˈtʰli.bɔː/ --> to press, bruise (of unknown etymology).
(B) «Συντρίβω» [s̠inˈdɾi.vo̞] < Ancient Greek verb «συντρίβω» /synˈtri.bɔː/ --> to rub together, shatter, crush, a compound: Prefix & preposition «σύν» (see earlier) + verb «τρίβω» /ˈtri.bɔː/.
Both (A) & (B) are used equally and interchangeably.
-The respected nouns are:
(A1) «Σύνθλιψη» [ˈs̠in.θlip͡s̠i] (fem.) < Ancient 3rd declension feminine noun «σύνθλιψις» /ˈsyn.tʰlip͡sis/ (nom. sing.), «συνθλίψεως» /synˈtʰli.p͡seɔːs/ (gen. sing.) --> compression, crushing.
(B1) «Συντριβή» [s̠int̠ɾiˈvi] (fem.) < Classical fem. noun «συντριβή» /syntriˈbɛː/ --> crushing. It's also metaphorically the state of being remorseful and penitent: «Αισθάνομαι συντριβή» [e̞s̠ˈθa.no̞me̞.s̠int̠ɾiˈvi] --> to feel contrition.

To flatten:
(A) «Επιπεδώνω» [e̞pipe̞ˈðo̞.no̞] < Koine verb «ἐπιπεδόω» /epipeˈdo.ɔː/ (uncontracted), «ἐπιπεδῶ» /epipeˈdɔ̂ː/ (contracted) --> to make something plane, flat; a compound: Prefix & preposition «ἐπί» /eˈpi/ + neuter noun «πέδον» /ˈpe.don/.
(B) «Ισοπεδώνω» [is̠o̞pe̞ˈðo̞.no̞] a modern Katharevousa construction (1856) formed with the joining together of the Ancient adjective «ἴσος» /ˈi.sos/ + «πέδον» (see earlier).
(B) is much more commonly used than (A) which is considered bookish.
-Nouns:
(A1) «Επιπέδωση» [e̞piˈpe̞.ðo̞s̠i] (fem.) --> flattening, levelling < Ancient 3rd declension feminine noun «ἐπιπέδωσις» /epiˈpe.dɔːsis/ (nom. sing.), «ἐπιπεδώσεως» /epipeˈdɔː.seɔːs/ (gen. sing.) --> formation of a plane surface (rarely used).
(B1) «Ισοπέδωση» [is̠o̞ˈpe̞.ðo̞s̠i] (fem.) --> crushing, quelling, flattening a 1856 construction (as the Katharevousian «ἰσοπέδωσις» [is̠o̞ˈpe̞.ðo̞s̠is̠] (fem.)).

 

[ThomasK]

Very interesting. So as for crushing Greek refers to the way the crushing happens: pressure, rubbing, ... and adds syn/con- to express the compactness ;-)...

 

[Penyafort]

Catalan has aplanar (from pla 'flat') for to flatten, but uses two onomatopoeic verbs for crushing.

aplanar /əplə'na/ = to flatten, to turn flat

aplana aquest terreny = flatten this piece of land!​

aixafar /əʃə'fa/ = to crush as in to flatten by compression, making it thinner.

aixafa les patates! = crush (mash) the potatoes!​

va asseure's sobre el pastís i el va aixafar = he sat on the cake and crushed/squashed it​

el cotxe va passar per damunt del gat i el va aixafar = the car ran over the cat and crushed it​

esclafar /əsklə'fa/ = to crush (into pieces) by applying strong pressure or smashing it onto a surface

esclafa els ous/les nous! = crush (crack) the eggs/the walnuts!​

va esclafar la gerra contra la paret = she crushed the jar against the wall​

el cavall va esclafar la síndria amb les potes = the horse crushed the watermelon with its legs​

​

In figurated meaning, esclafar tend to be more agressive. Compare:

La malaltia ens ha aplanat/aixafat = The disease has 'flattened/crushed' us​

Hem esclafat l'enemic = We have crushed the enemy​

 

[ThomasK]

Just one brief question, @Penyafort: are those all derivations based on adj. (or nouns), with -a (...) as a prefix?
Like a-plan(o ?)-ar, a-iaxa-far, es-claf-ar?

 

[סייבר־שד]

In Spanish you have either aplanar or allanar for "to flatten", though I would say the most common of the two is the former, especially since the second one is more often used figuratively, as well as having a few other meanings. Both of them ultimately stem from Latin planus (= "flat"), with the prefix a- , also of Latin origin (ad-), which is usually employed for words that imply entering a certain state or making progress towards something.

As for "to crush", you could use either aplastar or apachurrar, the former being the standard way of saying it, whereas the latter is somewhat informal and, as far as I know, pretty much restricted to American countries.

Aplastar is formed from the same suffix as aplanar/allanar plus the noun plasta (= "a flattened object", "a lump or mass of something, usually something soft and, to varying degrees, sticky"), which is itself of Greek origin and comes from πλαστός, which in Ancient Greek meant either "molded in clay or wax" or "false, artificial, counterfeit".

Apachurrar, on the other hand is an alternative form of despachurrar/despanchurrar, which have the same meaning, but which I've never heard or seen used over here.
These last two verbs are made up of the very common negative prefix des- , which ultimately comes from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (= "twice", "in two") plus the noun/adjective pancho, of Latin origin (pantex = "belly") and in Spanish referring, colloquially, to the belly. As an adjective it can mean either "calm" or "satisfied, content".

Finally, there's also machucar, which is quite common here in Mexico, but almost invariably used to talk about accidentally crushing your fingers, either those in your hands or in your feet, with something, like a door or a window.
It is an alternative form of machacar (= "to mash"), and both come from the verb machar (= "to pound, to grind"), which itself derives from the noun macho, in this case not the one meaning "male", but another one which can mean either "sledgehammer" or a kind of anvil.
According to the RAE, this noun comes from Latin marculus (= "small hammer"), but there's another theory which claims it's a variant of mazo (= "club, mace").

 

[Penyafort]

Just one brief question, @Penyafort: are those all derivations based on adj. (or nouns), with -a (...) as a prefix?
Like a-plan(o ?)-ar, a-iaxa-far, es-claf-ar?

Aplanar, as in other Romance languages, comes indeed from derivational affixes to the word for 'flat'

Latin PLANU(S) → Catalan: pla (m sg), plana (f sg), plans (m pl), planes (f pl)
Latin AD- → Catalan: a-
Latin -ARE → Catalan: -ar
pla → aplanar

Another derivated verb from pla is planar, without a-, but it means 'to hover', whether it's a bird, a plane or a threat.

In aixafar there might be analogy (of a-) upon the variant xafar, which is older, and of expressive onomatopoeic origin (< xaf, which sounds as if you're crushing something soft)

Esclafar could look at first as formed by the prefix es- upon an onomatopoeic *claf too, but it could also be related to similar onomatopoeic verbs such as the Italian schiaffare (cla- becomes chia- in Italian) and maybe Germanic ones like schlappen in German or slap in English, though semantically more distant.

 

[ThomasK]

Apachurrar, on the other hand is an alternative form of despachurrar/despanchurrar, which have the same meaning, but which I've never heard or seen used over here.
These last two verbs are made up of the very common negative prefix des- , which ultimately comes from Proto-Indo-European *dwís (= "twice", "in two") plus the noun/adjective pancho, of Latin origin (pantex = "belly") and in Spanish referring, colloquially, to the belly. As an adjective it can mean either "calm" or "satisfied, content".

Finally, there's also machucar, which is quite common here in Mexico, but almost invariably used to talk about accidentally crushing your fingers, either those in your hands or in your feet, with something, like a door or a window.
It is an alternative form of machacar (= "to mash"), and both come from the verb machar (= "to pound, to grind"), which itself derives from the noun macho, in this case not the one meaning "male", but another one which can mean either "sledgehammer" or a kind of anvil.
According to the RAE, this noun comes from Latin marculus (= "small hammer"), but there's another theory which claims it's a variant of mazo (= "club, mace").

apachurrar: c'est un verbe iteratif?
machucar: un lien avec macellaria en italien?

 

[סייבר־שד]

apachurrar: c'est un verbe itératif?

Pas que je sache, mais voilà quelque chose d'intéressant: il y a bien un verbe, apachar, qui d'après le Wiktionnaire veut dire "écraser, mutiler" et il s'agit apparemment d'un terme employé au Salvador et au Honduras; je ne l'ai certes jamais entendu ici au Mexique.
On pourrait être tenté de le considérer comme la forme non-itérative de apachurrar, n'est-ce pas? Et bien, ce n'est pas du tout le cas, puisque ses origines se trouvent plutôt dans le nahuatl classique: pātzoā (= "contusionner", "écraser").

machucar: un lien avec macelleria en italien?

Pas de lien ici, non plus. Le terme italien vient de macello (= "abattoir"), qui a ses origines dans le latin macellum (= "marché, épicerie"), un mot d'origine apparemment proto-indo-européenne, bien que mon Zingarelli 2024 penche plutôt pour une origine sémitique.

 

[ThomasK]

Hélas, mais des commentaires fort intéressants!!!

 

[Welsh_Sion]

For a bit of levity.

Q: What did the grape say when it was crushed?
A: Nothing. It just gave a little w(h)ine.

 

[Roxxxannne]

I don't understand the question. When you say 'them' in the OP, what are you referring to?