ὁμοῦ + ἀείδω

Validation

No

Last modification

Fri, 03/10/2023 - 14:00

Word-form

ὅμαδος

Transliteration (Word)

homados

English translation (word)

noise, din

Transliteration (Etymon)

homou + aeidō

English translation (etymon)

together + to sing

Author

Scholia in Homerum

Source

idem

Ref.

T Schol. Il. 9.573a1 Erbse

Ed.

H. Erbse, Scholia Graeca in Homeri Iliadem (scholia vetera), Berlin, 1969-1988

Quotation

ὅμαδος δὲ παρὰ τὸ πάντας ὁμοῦ ᾄδειν, ὅ ἐστι βοᾶν.

Translation (En)

Homados "noise, din", from the fact all sing (adein), that is, shout, together (homou)

Comment

Compositional etymology, maybe meant as an improvement of the etymology by ὁμοῦ + αὐδή because it is not necessary to assume a loss of [u]. In Roman times, ᾄδω was pronounced [adō], with the iota no longer pronounced, and this provided the initial sequence [ad] suitable for the second member. This etymology, as many others, show how Greek etymologists had a complete disregard for chronology: in Homer "to sing" is always ἀείδω, with the uncontracted form, but this was not an obstacle to the identification of a compound of the contracted form ᾄδω in ὅμαδος. From the semantic point of view, the etymology implies that ἀείδω is understood with a very general meaning "to utter a sound", from which one could infer the meaning "to shout" (βοᾶν), rather than "to sing".

Parallels

Geneva Schol. Il. 9.573 (παρὰ τὸ πάντας ὁμοῦ ᾄδειν); Schol. Od. 1.365b2 Pontani (ὅμαδος γὰρ ὁ θροῦς. γίνεται δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοῦ ᾄδειν. / ἀπὸ τοῦ ὁμοῦ καὶ τοῦ αὐδὴ ἡ φωνή); Schol. Ap. Rh. Arg., p. 178 (ad Arg. 2.638) (ὅμαδος δὲ παρὰ τὸ ὁμοῦ ᾄδειν, ὁμόαδός τις ὤν)

Modern etymology

Probably derived from ὁμός "common, same", and comparable with Red. samád- "battle", despite Beekes' doubts (EDG)

Persistence in Modern Greek

No. The MG adverb ομαδόν "together" is not the reflex of ὅμαδος but a later form

Entry By

Le Feuvre