Learn Greek › B2 › σκάζω
σκάζω
to crack, to burst /ˈska.zo/
verbB2#2739 most common
Also: to hatch (crack open), to shut up (colloquial imperative), to burst with anger or impatience
Example sentences
Το αυγό σκάζει.
The egg cracks open.
Σκάσε, σε παρακαλώ!
Shut up, please!
Το μπαλόνι σκάζει αν το φουσκώσεις πολύ.
The balloon bursts if you inflate it too much.
Τα κοτοπουλάκια σκάζουν από τα αυγά τους μετά από τρεις εβδομάδες.
The chicks hatch from their eggs after three weeks.
Έσκασα από τα νεύρα μου με την καθυστέρηση της πτήσης.
I burst with anger over the flight delay.
Παρόλο που προσπαθούσε να μείνει ψύχραιμος, ένιωθε πως θα έσκαζε από την αγωνία πριν την εξέταση.
Although he tried to stay calm, he felt he would burst from anxiety before the exam.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | σκάζω | έσκασα | θα σκάσω |
| 2sg | σκάζεις | έσκασες | θα σκάσεις |
| 3sg | σκάζει | έσκασε | θα σκάσει |
| 1pl | σκάζουμε | σκάσαμε | θα σκάσουμε |
| 2pl | σκάζετε | σκάσατε | θα σκάσετε |
| 3pl | σκάζουν | έσκασαν | θα σκάσουν |
Word family
σκάσιμοa crack, a burst
σκασμόςa bursting; slang for keeping silentσκασμένοςcracked, burst
ξεσκάζωto unwind, to let off steam
Etymology
Ancient Greek had two separate verbs that later collapsed into one spelling. Σκάζω originally meant 'to limp' (it gave the poetic term 'scazon', a limping verse meter), while σχάζω meant 'to slit open' or 'to lance', used for cutting a vein or a boil. Modern Greek σκάζω keeps the ancient spelling but carries the sense of the second verb: something splits or bursts open. From there it picked up figurative uses, an egg hatches, a person bursts with anger, and in slang someone is told to shut their mouth.
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