Talk:katabasis

RFV discussion: March–April 2022

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katabasis

The one definition says "A journey downwards: a journey downhill, a decrease of winds, a military retreat, a trip to the underworld; a trip from the interior of a country to the coast." I highly doubt it's used in English of going downhill, a decrease in winds, or a trip to the coast. The senses should also be separated. --Simplificationalizer (talk) 22:49, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

The OED's definition is very specific: "A going down; a military retreat, in allusion to that of the ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon, related by him in his Anabasis." (The situation seems similar to tetragamy, which I was looking at just now; we define it as "marriage for a fourth time", but in practice it only refers to the so-called Tetragamy affair of Leo VI the Wise.)

Wikipedia has an article about this word's varied meanings, which is worth consulting. Anyone trying to cite this should also look for uses of the alternative form catabasis. This, that and the other (talk) 00:46, 11 March 2022 (UTC)

Are we sure it means a decrease in winds rather than a downhill motion ? I would expect it to align with the meaning of katabatic. —Soap— 17:32, 31 March 2022 (UTC)

That sense is nonsense and is going to get deleted soon. However, sense 4 is not nonsense. When I was searching for this word a few weeks ago I remember finding various things that hinted at that sense - perhaps they were mentions or italicised uses. Some more looking might be in order. This, that and the other (talk) 13:46, 7 April 2022 (UTC)

Senses 1, 2 and 3 cited. Sense 4 is a definite maybe. Sense 5 can fail. This, that and the other (talk) 04:04, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

cited. I changed the wind definition to the presence of katabatic winds, which is used in some of the literature about Antarctica, although it is rare. Kiwima (talk) 05:12, 23 April 2022 (UTC)

RFV-passed Kiwima (talk) 08:50, 30 April 2022 (UTC)