ἄ-φρων

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Sun, 12/18/2022 - 13:25

Word-form

φρόνιν

Transliteration (Word)

phronis

English translation (word)

prudence

Transliteration (Etymon)

a-phrōn

English translation (etymon)

insane

Author

Philoxenus

Century

1 BC

Reference

fr. 194

Edition

C. Theodoridis, Die Fragmente des Grammatikers Philoxenos [Sammlung griechischer und lateinischer Grammatiker (SGLG) 2. Berlin: De Gruyter, 1976]

Source

Etym. Genuinum

Ref.

s.v. φρόνιμος

Ed.

unpublished

Quotation

φρόνιμος· φρῶ ἐστι ῥῆμα, ὅπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ προϊῶ γέγονε πρῶ καὶ φρῶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν καὶ τροπήν. φρῶ οὖν ῥῆμα, ἀφ’ οὗ ὄνομα φρὼν καὶ σύνθετον σώφρων καὶ εὔφρων καὶ ἄφρων δέ· οὗ παράγωγον φραίνω καὶ εὐφραίνω, ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ φρήν. τὸ οὖν φρὼν ὄνομα γενικὴν ἔχει φρονός, οὗ παράγωγον φρόνιμος καὶ ἡ φρόνις παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ (δ 258)· „κατὰ δὲ φρόνιν ἤγαγε πολλήν“.

Translation (En)

Phronimos "wise": phrô is a verb, which comes from *proiô "to send forth", *prô and *phrô, by syncope and change <of the consonant>. *Phrô is therefore a verb, from which is derived the noun *phrōn, and in composition sōphrōn "wise" and euphrōn "cheerful" and aphrōn "insane". Its derivative is *phrainō, and euphrainō "to rejoice", from which comes also phrēn "mind". The genitive of this noun *phrōn is *phronos, and derived from the genitive is phronimos "wise", and phronis "prudence" in Homer.

Comment

Derivational etymology. The form is correctly related to the compounds of φρήν, but not directly connected to the latter. Instead, from ἄφρων, σώφρων, εὔφρων is hypothesized a noun *φρών, φρονός, which allegedly is the base of φρόνις and φρόνιμος. The etymology is found in Orion's Etymologicum (phi, p. 162) up to οὗ παράγωγον φρόνιμος.

Parallels

Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 800 (Φρόνις: Ὅμηρος, ‘κατὰ δὲ φρόνιν ἤγαγε πολλήν’· ὁ μὲν Ἡρωδιανὸς, παρὰ τὴν φρόνησιν, κατὰ συγκοπήν· ὁ δὲ Ὦρος [mistake for Orion], ἐκ τῆς φρὼν φρονὸς γενικῆς γίνεται φρόνις· καὶ ἡ αἰτιατικὴ, φρόνιν. Τὸ δὲ φρὼν γίνεται ἐκ τοῦ φρῶ· ὅθεν ἄφρων καὶ σώφρων. Ἡ γενικὴ, φρονός· οὗ παράγωγον, φρόνιμος· καὶ τὸ φρονῶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, phi, p. 1823 (Φρόνιμος. φρῶ ἐστι ῥῆμα, ὅπερ ἀπὸ τοῦ προΐω γέγονε, πρῶ καὶ φρῶ κατὰ συγκοπὴν καὶ τροπήν· ἀφ’ οὗ ὄνομα ῥηματικὸν φρὼν, καὶ ἐν συνθέσει σώφρων καὶ εὔφρων· οὗ παράγωγον φραίνω· ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ φρήν. τοῦ οὖν φρὼν ὀνόματος ἡ γενικὴ φρονὸς, οὗ παράγωγον φρόνιμος· καὶ ἡ φρόνις παρ’ Ὁμήρῳ· ‘κατὰ δὲ φρόνιν ἤγαγε πολλήν’. ἐκ τοῦ φρόνησιν κατὰ συγκοπὴν φρόνιν. ὁ δὲ Μιλήσιος Ὦρος ἐκ τῆς φρὼν φρονὸς γενικῆς φρόνις, καὶ ἡ αἰτιατικὴ τὴν φρόνιν)

Modern etymology

Derived from φρονέω

Persistence in Modern Greek

The word no longer exists in MG, but the derivative φρόνιμος still does as a learned word

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