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[136] πεῖσμα. According to the Schol. “ἀπόγειον σχοινίον ᾧ πείθεται ἡ ναῦς”. The derivation, according to Curtius, is found in the Skt. root bandh, whence badh-nA-mi, ‘flecto,’ ‘ligo,’ and Gk. “πενθ-ερός”. But Schol. is so far right that πεῖσμα is properly the “ἀπόγειον σχοινίον”, for it is generally employed as an equivalent for “πρυμνήσια”. Cp. Od.13. 77“πεῖσμα δ᾽ ἔλυσαν ἀπὸ τρητοῖο λίθοιο”. Here it is used for mooring-tackle generally, subdivided into the cable from the bows fastened to the “εὐναί”, and the “πρυμνήσια” between the stern and the shore.

Homer's Odyssey. W. Walter Merry. James Riddell. D. B. Monro. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1886-1901.

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