ἀ- + μένω
Word
Validation
Yes
Word-form
ἀμείνων
Word-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
ameinōn
English translation (word)
better
Transliteration (Etymon)
a- + menō
English translation (etymon)
not + to remain
Century
2 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Peri orthographias, III/2, p. 474
Ed.
A. Lentz, Grammatici graeci vol. 3/2, Leipzig, 1870
Quotation
ἀμείνων: […] παρὰ τὸ μένω γέγονεν ἀμένων καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ι ἀμείνων ὁ μὴ μένων, ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ πάντων αἰρόμενος.
Translation (En)
ameinōn "better": from menō "I remain" came *amenōn and through the addition of [i] ameinōn, the one who does not remain (mē menōn), but is praised by everyone.
Parallels
Choeroboscus, De orthographia, p. 176 (ὁ μὴ μένων, ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ πάντων περιάρπαστος γενόμενος δι’ ἐξοχήν); Etym. Genuinum, alpha 637 (παρὰ τὸ μένω γέγονεν ἀμένων καὶ πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ι ἀμείνων, τουτέστιν ὁ μὴ μένων, ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ πάντων αἰρόμενος· τὸν γὰρ κρείττονα πάντες αἴρουσιν)
Modern etymology
Unclear. Within Greek, the word is isolated
Persistence in Modern Greek
No
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
The comparative is analyzed as a compound of menō "to remain" with the privative prefix ἀ-. The semantic justification is forced. It is likely that αἰρόμενος "praised" is a mistake for αἱρούμενος "taken, seized, chosen" which is found in other sources (see Parallels, Choeroboscus), and which makes more sense as opposed to μένω.