ὁλόομαι
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Ὠλέναι. αἱ χεῖρες. ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν ὁλοῦσθαι τὰς πράξεις, τουτέστι, πληροῦσθαι. οὕτω Σωρανός.
Translation (En)
ōlenai "elbows": the arms, from the fact that deeds are made whole (holousthai), that is, accomplished, by them. This is what Soranus says.
Parallels
Herodian, Schematismi homerici 104 (Ὠλέναι, αἱ χεῖρες, ἀπὸ ὀλοῦσθαι καὶ πληροῦσθαι ἐνεργημάτων ἀεί); Epimerismi homerici Il. 1.55b (ὠλέναι δὲ παρὰ τὸ δι’ αὐτῶν ὁλοῦσθαι τὰς πράξεις, τουτέστι πληροῦσθαι); Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, lambda 13 (λευκώλενος: παρὰ τὸ λευκός καὶ τὸ ὠλένη, ὃ σημαίνει τὸν βραχίονα· τοῦτο παρὰ τὸ δι’ αὐτῶν ὁλοῦσθαι τὰς πράξεις, τουτέστι πληροῦσθαι· ὠλέναι δὲ λέγονται τὰ ἄνω τῶν βραχιόνων.); Meletius, De natura hominis, p. 118 (λέγονται καὶ ὠλέναι, ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν εἰλοῦσθαι (sic) τὰς τάξεις· τουτέστι πληροῦσθαι); Etym. Gudianum, lambda, p. 366 (Λευκώλενος, παρὰ τὸ λευκὸς καὶ τὸ ὠλένη, ὃ σημαίνει τὸν βραχίονα· τοῦτο δὲ παρὰ τὸ δι’ αὐτῶν ὁλοῦσθαι τὰς πράξεις, τουτ’ἔστι πληροῦσθαι· ὠλένη δὲ λέγεται τὰ ἄκρα τῶν βραχιόνων); ibid., omicron, p. 426 (Ὀλοῦσθαι, εἰς τὸ λευκώλενος, καὶ ὠλέναι); ibid., omega, p. 578 (Ὠλέναι, αἱ χεῖρες, ἀπὸ τὸ δι’ αὐτῶν ὀλοῦσθαι τινὰς πράξεις, τουτ’ἔστι πληροῦσθαι· οὕτω Σωρανός. | Ὠλένη, ἐκ τοῦ ὀλοῦσθαι τὰ ἔργα, κατ’ ἐπαύξησιν τοῦ ο εἰς ω); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 821 (Ὠλέναι: Αἱ χεῖρες, αἱ παλάμαι· ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν ὀλοῦσθαι τὰς πράξεις, τουτέστι πληροῦσθαι); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, omega, p. 1885 (Ὠλέναι. αἱ ἀγκάλαι, ἢ πήχεις τῶν χειρῶν. ἢ αἱ χεῖρες, ἢ αἱ παλάμαι. ἀπὸ τοῦ δι’ αὐτῶν ἐλοῦσθαι τὰς πράξεις, τουτέστι πληροῦσθαι. οὕτω Σωρανός).
Comment
Derivational etymology relying on the alternation between ō and ŏ. It implies a psilotic form of ὅλος. The etymology is based on the koine form of the adjective, ὅλος, not on the ionic form οὖλος. From the semantic point of view, it takes the word in the extended meaning of "arms, hands", the active part in doing something. Since ὁλόομαι is not attested as an active verb but only as a passive one, the etymology had to be formulated in such a way that the lemma appears as the complement, not as the subject.