φημί
Word
Validation
No
Word-form
φωνή
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
phōnē
English translation (word)
voice
Transliteration (Etymon)
phēmi
English translation (etymon)
to say
Century
9 AD
Source
Idem
Ref.
Epimerismi in Psalmos p. 99
Ed.
T. Gaisford, Georgii Choerobosci epimerismi in Psalmos, vol. 3, Oxford, 1842
Quotation
Φωνή, ὄνομα προσηγορικὸν, γίνεται δὲ παρὰ τὸ φῶ τὸ λέγω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ ΦΩ μέγα·
Translation (En)
Phōnē "voice", common noun, and it comes from *phô meaning legō "to say", hence the [phō] with omega
Parallels
Ibid., p. 118 (άθῶος παρὰ τὸ θῶ, ὃ σημαίνει τὸ καταβάλλω καὶ ζημιῶ, γίνεται θωὴ ἡ ζημία, ᾗπερ παρὰ τὸ ζῶ ζωὴ, καὶ φῶ φωνὴ)
Modern etymology
Derived from the root of φημί "I say", φάσις "fame", PIE *bheh2- "speak" (Beekes, EDG)
Persistence in Modern Greek
Yes
Entry By
Le Feuvre
Comment
Choeroboscus' text is the only source favouring the derivation from φημί, here under the monosyllabic form φῶ assumed by Philoxenus. See φωνή / φαίνω for the details