ἴς2

Validation

No

Last modification

Thu, 08/05/2021 - 14:03

Word-form

κινῶ

Transliteration (Word)

kineō

English translation (word)

to move sth.

Transliteration (Etymon)

is

English translation (etymon)

strength

Author

Epimerismi homerici

Century

9 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, kappa 17

Ed.

A.R. Dyck, Epimerismi Homerici: Pars altera. Lexicon αἱμωδεῖν [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 5.2. Berlin - New York: De Gruyter, 1995: 59-761.

Quotation

κινῶ (Β 144): σεσημείωται τὸ κίω κινῶ καὶ κύω κυνῶ. καὶ ἔστι μακρὸν τὸ ι. γέγονε δὲ ἐκ τοῦ ἴς, ὃ σημαίνει τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ γράφεται διὰ τοῦ ι […] γέγο⸤νε κατὰ μεταφοράν⸥· τοῖς γὰρ δυναμένοις παρέπεται τὸ κινεῖσθαι, ὥσπερ τοῖς ἀδυνάτοις τὸ μὴ κινεῖσθαι.

Translation (En)

kinô "to move": noteworthy are kiō "to move" and kuō "to kiss". Ad the [i] is long. It comes from is which means "strength", and is spelled with [I] […] It arises by metaphor: because motion goes with who is valid, and impossibility of motion with the disabled.

Comment

Derivational etymology starting from the noun ἴς, ἰνός in the meaning "strength". From it is derived a verb *ἰνέω (explicit in the Etym. Magnum, see Parallels) and then by adjunction of [k], κινέω "to move, to set in motion". The interesting element is the semantic justification given at the end: motion is specific to healthy and valid people (δυνάμενος and ἀδύνατος refer here to physical capacity of motion), and so is strength. Motion is a consequence of strength, so to speak. The explanation matches the middle κινέομαι, not the active κινέω "to move sth." (transitive), displaying the usual indifference to diathesis of Greek etymological explanations.

Parallels

Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 513 (Κινῶ: Ἔστιν ἲν καὶ ἲς, δικατάληκτον ὄνομα, καὶ σημαίνει τὴν δύναμιν· ἐξ οὗ γίνεται ῥῆμα ἰνῶ· καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ κ, κινῶ. Σεσημείωται τὸ κίω κινῶ, καὶ κύω κυνῶ. Καὶ ἔστι μακρὸν τὸ ι)

Modern etymology

Within Greek, κινέω is related to κίω, although not directly derived from it. PIE *keih2- "to set in motion" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Yes