αἶνος

Validation

Yes

Last modification

Thu, 12/23/2021 - 17:15

Word-form

ἔπαινος

Transliteration (Word)

epainos

English translation (word)

praise

Transliteration (Etymon)

ainos

English translation (etymon)

tale, praise

Author

Herodian

Century

2 AD

Source

Idem

Ref.

Partitiones, p. 167

Ed.

J.F. Boissonade, Herodiani partitiones, London, 1819

Quotation

Πλὴν τοῦ αἶνος, ὁ ἔπαινος· καὶ τῶν παρ’ αὐτοῦ· ἔπαινος· πολύαινος· καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

Translation (En)

[…] except ainos "praise" and the forms coming from it, epainos "praise", poluainos, etc.

Comment

The analysis ἔπ-αινος is obvious and this is why it is not mentioned explicitly in our sources before. The etymology of ἔπαινος is the same as that of αἶνος (q.v.).

Parallels

Hippolytus, Fragmenta in Psalmos [Sp.] 16 (οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄλλο ἔπαινος ἢ τοῦ αἴνου ἐπίτασις); Gregorius Nyssenus, In inscriptiones Psalmorum, vol. 5, p. 75 McDonough (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο τί ἐστιν ἔπαινος, εἰ μὴ τοῦ αἴνου ἐπίτασις); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 133 (ἔπαινος γίνεται παρὰ τῆς ἐπὶ προθέσεως καὶ τοῦ αἶνος); Etym. Gudianum Additamenta, epsilon, p. 494 (Ἔπαινος <Ps. 21, 4>· ἐκ τῆς ἐπί προθέσεως καὶ τοῦ αἶνος).

Notice the specialization in Christian texts, of ἔπαινος for the praise of men, of αἶνος for the praise of God: Gregorius Naz., Carmina moralia, MPG 955, 14-15 (Ἔπαινός ἐστιν εὖ τι τῶν ἐμῶν φράσαι.  | Αἶνος δ’ ἔπαινος εἰς Θεὸν σεβάσμιος); Didymus Caecus, Commentarii in Psalmos 29-34, p. 230 (ἔπαινον δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐ κυρίως λέγει· μᾶλλον γὰρ ὕμνος καὶ αἶνος ἐπὶ θεοῦ λέγεται, ἐπὶ δὲ ἀνθρώπων ἔπαινος); Scholia in Aristophanem, Plutum (scholia recentiora) 745 (“αἶνος” ἐπὶ θεοῦ, “ἔπαινος” ἐπὶ ἀνθρώπου).

Modern etymology

Ἔπαινος is a back-formation on ἐπ-αινέω "to praise" (the verb is already Homeric, the noun is attested later)

Persistence in Modern Greek

Yes

Entry By

Le Feuvre