λάλος

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Last modification

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 14:52

Word-form

λαός

Transliteration (Word)

laos

English translation (word)

men, people

Transliteration (Etymon)

lalos

English translation (etymon)

talkative

Author

Chrysippus

Century

3 BC

Source

Herodian, ap. Epimerismi Homerici

Ref.

Epimerismi homerici ordine alphabetico traditi, lambda 38

Ed.

A. Dyck, Epimerismi Homerici: Pars altera. Lexicon αἱμωδεῖν. Berlin – New York, 1995

Quotation

Γίνεται δὲ λαός, ὡς Χρύσιππος ὁ Στωϊκὸς ἐτυμολογεῖ (deest in Arnim,  S. V. F.), παρὰ τὸ λαλῶ λαλός καὶ λαός

Translation (En)

The word laos "men", according to the Stoic Chrysippus, comes from lalô "to talk", lalos "talkative" and laos

Comment

Derivational etymology defining the people by its ability to talk: a similar etymology was proposed for ἄνθρωπος derived from ὄψ "voice". It implies one formal manipulation, the dropping of [l]. The accentual difference between paroxytone λάλος and oxytone λαός is not commented upon. This etymology is not reported in Arnim's edition

Parallels

Herodian, De prosodia catholica, Lentz III/1, p. 108 (idem); Apollonius Soph., Lexicon homericum, p. 107 (λαοί ὄχλοι, ἀπὸ τοῦ λάλους εἶναι, ἢ ὡς ὁ μῦθος, ἀπὸ τοῦ Δευκαλίωνος κατακλυσμοῦ); Orion, Etymologicum (Excerpta e cod. Darmstadino 2773), p. 615 (λαὸς, λάλος τίς ἐστι καὶ κατὰ ἀποβολὴν τοῦ λ λαός); Hesychius, Lexicon, lambda 291 (λαοί· ὄχλοι, δῆμοι. δύνανται δὲ οὕτως εἰρῆσθαι ἄνθρωποι διὰ τὸ εἶναι λάλοι); Choeroboscus, Epimerismi in Psalmos, p. 68 (Παρὰ τὸ λαλῶ λαλὸς λαός); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 553 (Γίνεται παρὰ τὸ λαλῶ λαλὸς καὶ λαός); Anonymi in Aristoteles librum Primus Analyticorum posteriorum commentarium, p. XVI (ἡ δὲ κυρίως αἰτία τοῦ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους λαοὺς ὀνομάζεσθαι τὸ λαλεῖν αὐτούς ἐστι· παράγεται γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ λαλῶ λάλος καὶ λαός)

Modern etymology

Probably cognate with OIrish láech "warrior", Hitt. lāhh- "campaign", despite Beekes' skepticism. Isolated within Greek

Persistence in Modern Greek

MG still has λαός as a learned word and λαο- in compounds

Entry By

Le Feuvre