βλέπω + αἴρω
Word
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Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
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Quotation
Βλέφαρα, ὅτι τὸ βλέπειν ἐστὶ φάρη. ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι αὐτὰ ἐν τῷ βλέπειν
Translation (En)
blephara "eyelid": because they are the cloaks (phārē) of sight (to blepein). Or from the fact that we "lift" (airesthai) them when we "look" (blepein)
Parallels
Orion, Etymologicum, excerpta e codice Darmstadino 2773, beta p. 613 (βλέφαρα ὅτι αἴρονται ἐν τῷ βλέπειν); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos p. 120 (παρὰ τὸ βλέμματος φάρος εἶναι, ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι ἐν τῷ βλέπειν); ibid., p. 182 (τὸ βλέφαρον παρὰ τὸ βλέμματος φάρος εἶναι, ὅτι ἐπαιρομένων αὐτῶν βλέπομεν· ἢ τοῦ βλέπους φάρος); Meletius, De natura hominis p. 69 (βλέφαρον μὲν, διὰ τὸ προφαίνεσθαι· ἢ διὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι αὐτὸ ἐν τῷ ὁρᾶν); Leo Med., De natura hominis synopsis 41 (idem); Theognostus, Canones sive De orthographia 522 (Βλέφαρον παρὰ τὸ βλέπω καὶ αἴρω, βλεπέαρόν τι ὄν); Etym. Genuinum, beta 137 (Βλέφαρον· τοῦ βλέποντος φάρος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐν τῷ βλέπειν αἴρεσθαι); Etym. Parvum, alpha 100 (βλέφαρον παρὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι ἐν τῷ βλέπειν); Etym. Gudianum, beta, p. 138 (παρὰ τὸ ἐν τῷ βλέπειν αἴρεσθαι); ibid., beta, p. 272-273 (Βλέφαρα· ὅτι τοῦ βλέπους ἐστὶ φάρη, ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι αὐτὰ ἐν τῷ βλέπειν […] διότι αἰρουμένου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄνω βλέπομεν, οἱονεὶ βλεπέαρον, ἆρον καὶ βλέπε[ις] […] Βλέφαρον· παρὰ τὸ αἴρειν καὶ βλέπειν· ἢ παρὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸ φάρος τοῦ βλέμματος ἤγουν ἱμάτιον […] Βλέφαρα· παρὰ τὸ βλέμματος φάρος εἶναι· ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι ἐν τῷ βλέπειν, οἱονεὶ βλέπαρα ὄντα, κατὰ ἀντίστοιχον. ‖ παρὰ τὸ τοῦ βλέμματος φάρος εἶναι ἤγουν ἱμάτιον); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges p. 199 (Βλέφαρον: Τοῦ βλέποντος φάρος· ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι ἐν τῷ βλέπειν· αἰρομένων γὰρ αὐτῶν ἡμεῖς βλέπομεν. Ἢ παρὰ τὸ βάλλειν τοὺς ὦπας); Etym. Symeonis vol. 1 p. 446 (βλέφαρον· τοῦ βλέποντος αἴρεσθαι); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, beta, p. 393 (Βλέφαρον. τοῦ βλέποντος φάρος. ἢ παρὰ τὸ ἐν τῷ βλέπειν αἴρεσθαι); Commentaria in Dionysii Thracis Artem grammaticam p. 14-15 (ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο λέγεται βλέφαρον, διότι αἰρομένου αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄνω βλέπομεν, οἱονεὶ βλεπέαρον, ἆρον καὶ βλέπε· ἢ μηδὲ τρέψας τι, διαστείλας δὲ μόνον τὴν λέξιν, εὗρον ὅτι ὡσανεὶ φᾶρος, ὅπερ περιβόλαιόν ἐστι, τοῦ βλέμματος ἡμῶν); Commentaria in Dionysii Thracis Artem grammaticam, scholia Londiniensia p. 471 (καὶ βλέφαρον παρὰ τὸ αἰρομένου αὐτοῦ βλέπειν βλέπαρον καὶ βλέφαρον, ἢ παρὰ τὸ φᾶρος εἶναι τοῦ βλέμματος); Schol. Od. α364b Pontani (βλέφαρον παρὰ τὸ αἴρεσθαι ἐν τῷ βλέπειν); ibid. β398f Pontani (idem); Scholia in Oppianum, Hal. 1.70 (Βλεφάροισι· ὄμμασιν. βλέφαρον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν τῷ βλέπειν αἴρεσθαι. βλεφάροισιν· ὀφθαλμοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ φάρους τοῦ βλέπους ἤτοι τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ, ἢ ἐν τῷ βλέπειν αἴρεσθαι); ibid. 2, 5 (βλέφαρον παρὰ τὸ φάρος εἶναι τοῦ βλέπους, ἤτοι τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ· βλὲψ γὰρ ὁ ὀφθαλμός)
Comment
The word is parsed as a compound of βλέπω "to look" and αἴρω "to lift": the verbal stem of the latter is [ar] in koine Greek (active fut. ἀρῶ, aor. ἆρα / ἦρα, passive fut. ἀρθήσομαι, aor. ἤρθην). The internal structure of such a compound does not make any sense, but Greek etymologists were never interested in the structure of compounds and the syntactic relationship between the two elements. The etymology may go back to Soranus of Ephesus. The Etym. Magnum erroneously refers to βλέφαρον an etymology which is that of its etymon βλέπω (see βλέπω / βάλλω + ὤψ).