ἄγαν + ἀλύω

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Last modification

Mon, 11/01/2021 - 09:20

Word-form

ἀχλύς

Transliteration (Word)

akhlus

English translation (word)

mist

Transliteration (Etymon)

agan + aluō

English translation (etymon)

very + to be distraught

Author

Etym. Genuinum

Century

9 AD? ?

Source

Idem

Ref.

Etym. Genuinum, alpha 1518

Ed.

F. Lasserre and N. Livadaras, Etymologicum magnum genuinum. Symeonis etymologicum una cum magna grammatica. Etymologicum magnum auctum, vol. 1, Rome: Ateneo, 1976

Quotation

Ἀχλύς Ε 127· σκοτία, ἀορασία, ἡ ἄγαν ἀλύουσα καὶ ἀποκρύπτουσα· παρὰ τὸ ἀλύω τοῦ α ἐπιτατικοῦ ὄντος. ἢ παρὰ τὸ τὰς ὄψεις ἡμῶν ὀχλεῖν καὶ λυπεῖν

Translation (En)

Akhlus "mist": darkness, impossibility to see, the very (agan) troubling (aluousa) one, the hiding one. From aluō "to be distraught", with intensive a-. Or from the fact it troubles our eyes and hurts them.

Comment

Compositional etymology. The word seems to be parsed as a compound of ἄγαν, which would imply *ἀγαλύω > *ἀγλυ- (syncope) > ἀχλυ- (change of the consonant). The second element of the compound, ἀλύω, is itself assumed to display the intensive alpha, so that the word is assumed to contain two intensive morphemes. The second element ἀλύω is intransitive "to be distraught", whereas in the etymology it is taken with an active meaning "troubling": Greek etymologists were insensitive to the problem of diathesis.

Parallels

Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 181 (Ἀχλύς: Σκοτία, ἀορασία, ἡ ἄγαν ἀλύουσα καὶ ἀποκρύπτουσα, παρὰ τὸ ἀλύω, τοῦ α ἐπιτατικοῦ   ὄντος. Ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄχω ἀχὺς καὶ ἀχλύς· παρὰ τὸ τὰς ὄψεις ἡμῶν ὀχλεῖν καὶ λυπεῖν. Ἔστι χέω· καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γίνεται χύω, χύσω, ὥσπερ ῥέω, ῥύω· ἀποβολῇ τοῦ ω χύς· καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ λ, χλύς· καὶ μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιτατικοῦ α, ἀχλὺς, ἡ πάνυ κεχυμένη· ζόφος γάρ ἐστιν. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἄγαν καὶ τὸ εἰλῶ, ἡ ἄγαν συγκλείουσα καὶ ἀποκρύπτουσα); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, alpha, p. 362 (Ἀχλύς. σκότος, ὁμίχλη, ζόφος, ἡ ἄγαν ἀλύουσα καὶ ἀποκρύπτουσα. παρὰ τὸ ἀλύω, τοῦ α ἐπιτατικοῦ ὄντος. ἢ παρὰ τὸ τὰς ὄψεις ἡμῶν ὀχλεῖν καὶ λυπεῖν)

Modern etymology

Isolated within Greek. PIE *h2ghlu- "mist", cognate with OPr. aglo "rain" and Arm. ałǰamułǰk' "darkness" (Beekes, EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has αχλή as a learned word

Entry By

Le Feuvre